The Daily Star Ireland
As the nation prepares to head to the polls in just a few days, political parties and independents are making a final push to secure as many of the 174 Dáil seats as possible.
Today’s editorial in the Irish Independent emphasizes the importance of the final leaders’ debate in addressing the risks to the Irish economy. Following last week’s debate, where Peadar Tóibín of Aontú and Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit engaged aggressively with their opponents and received high ratings, especially Tóibín who was deemed the winner of the Katie Hannon debate on RTÉ by the Ireland Thinks opinion poll for the Sunday Independent.
Tomorrow night’s three-way debate, moderated by Miriam O’Callaghan and Sarah McInerney, will offer more time to delve into the policies of the prospective taoisigh. Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald will all face intense scrutiny as the election race tightens.
Each party is keen to promote its policies and plans for spending the booming surpluses, including the funds from the so-called “leprechaun economics” pot of gold associated with Apple. However, it is essential to consider the warning issued by the Central Bank a year ago about the economy’s resilience to inflationary shocks and the looming impact of higher interest rates.
Since then, the global landscape has become more volatile with the escalation of the war in the Middle East, the deepening conflict in Ukraine, and the re-election of Donald Trump as US president. On the day Trump appointed Wall Street CEO Howard Lutnick to head the US Commerce Department’s trade and tariff strategy, the Cabinet was alerted to the potential economic fallout from global instability and changes in the White House.
Lutnick has been critical of Ireland’s trade relationship with the US, asserting that it is unfair for Ireland to run a trade surplus at America’s expense. He emphasized the need to address this imbalance, suggesting that ending this “nonsense” would contribute to making America great again.
The government has been cautioned about the looming dangers of these external factors. It is unrealistic to assume that Ireland will remain unaffected by global economic and security fragility. Yet, political parties continue to engage in auction politics, making extravagant spending promises without considering these threats. Voters indeed desire a clear vision for the country’s future, including improvements in public services and infrastructure development.
It is crucial for the aspiring taoisigh to articulate their perspectives on the risks to Ireland’s economic model and how they will respond if financial resources dwindle. While the current abundance of funding is a fortunate position, there is no guarantee that this prosperity will last.
