Economy

Although he was unbelievably fortunate to have attained the leadership at all, given what happened within Fianna Fail over the last decade, CharlieHaughey could not have taken over at a less propitious time. As is argued in the following article by ESRI economist, Joe Durkan, the Government is now forced to impose severe deflationary measures on the economy because of the alarming size of the borrowing requirement and the huge deficit in the balance of payments. This view isn't exclusive to Durkan.

Dr. Martin O'Donoghue was Minister for Economic Planning and Development from July 1977 to December 1979 and, during that time, was the chief architect of the Government's economic policy, as he had been of the Fianna Fail manifesto for the 1977 general election. The dropping of Dr. O'Donoghue from the cabinet by the new Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, was seen to represent a repudiation of the economic policy of the Lynch Government. In this article, Dr.

More uncertainty about oil, a threat to agriculture, and social justice only through redistribution.

How the revived Central Bank has assumed a dominant role in the Irish economy in conflict with the Department of Finance. The Irish economy has now embarked on the type of stop-go merry go-round which plagued the British economy during the 195Os and 1960s. When Fianna Fail returned to office in 1977, it set itself the target of re-establishing business confidence. In this it was singularly successful - for nothing succeeds like excess.

An agreed IFA position on taxation and the coming merger with ICMSA seem to demonstrate the growing strength and unity of the farmer organisations. But there are troubles ahead: farm incomes are under pressure and next year's IFA elections have opened a serious rift already.

The EMS would provide currency stability. Further loans or grants are a bonus.

The Irish Central Bank is in an invidious position as its power to act is severely circumscribed by the punt's link with sterling. Thus interest rates and, to a lesser extent, the money supply, is dictated by London.

There can't be very many best-selling authors who spend much of their creative life crawling around a study floor on their hands and knees. But here's Max Morgan-Witts doubled up on the carpet in the home of his co-author, Gordon Thomas, in Ashford, County Wicklow. In front of him is a massive manilla folder chock-a-block with notes, pamphlets, and photostat cuttings from the New York Times of 1929.

Martin O'Donoghue interviewed on the performance of the economy in 1978, prospects for 1979 and the effects of EMS membership

There would seem to be an obvious line of political descent from a speech by Charlie Haughey at the last Fianna Fail Ard Fheis through paragraph 7.16 of the Green Paper Develop- t ment for Full Employment to the reo ~ cently increased restrictions on dole~ claimants. But the appearances are de·~ ceptive: the Minister for Social Wellfare and his department officials cateegorically deny that they have issued any directive to labour exchanges requiring them to have the unemployed sign on more regularly or show more tangible evidence of their efforts to get work.