The Coalition Government's response to the publication of a highly sensitive memorandum from the Department of Finance, calling for a reduction of €900m in spending on existing services in the coming Budget, was pathetic. Rather than apologise to voters for misleading them at election time, or considering whether ministerial resignations were in order, the Government chose to embark on a hunt for the individual who had issued the damning material.
That ostrich-style action was repeated yesterday when the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, insisted the public had been kept fully informed of the worsening economic situation before the election. The minister's defence has been echoed in recent days by his Cabinet colleagues but the reality is that ministers were fully aware of the wild spending spree they had authorised and of the need to take early corrective action. In spite of that, the electorate was promised a continuation of good times. And Mr McCreevy publicly denied that any cutbacks, secret or otherwise, were being planned. Not only that, the Department of Finance reported in May that public spending was "slightly below" projections, even while - as we now know - it rose by 27 per cent.
The Minister for Finance appeared to justify those assurances last week to his colleagues when he said his job was to ensure the re-election of Fianna Fail. Such an attitude raises serious questions about his fitness to be in charge of the public finances. Public service is, after all, about putting the public good before narrow party interests and about protecting and advancing the democratic process. Unfortunately, as Archdeacon Gordon Linney remarked, the credibility of the political establishment has been damaged by the behaviour of the Government. And a danger has emerged that the growing cynicism of the electorate may impact negatively on next month's Nice referendum.
It is vitally important that the public should not confuse the interests of the State with the welfare of the political parties now forming the Government. Voting against the Nice Treaty because of the political chicanery of Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats would not prevent the cutbacks that are now being planned, but it could make economic life far more difficult in the years ahead.
Ireland has benefited hugely from the EU. And not just in terms of structural funding, higher farm prices, inward investment and larger markets. Protection of the environment and social change has stemmed largely from EU directives.
Unpalatable as it may be, Ireland needs many of the disciplines the EU has to offer if it is to develop a more caring and equitable society. Just as the Government's "shoot the messenger" response to the release of budgetary material was ill-judged, rejection of the Nice Treaty as a means of punishing Fianna Fail would fail to distinguish shadow from substance.