Northern Ireland is suffering a “democratic overload” and needs a reworking of government that prioritises the economy over the peace process, a conference has been told.
Whereas the Republic, despite its current problems, had created a vibrant export economy, the belief that the North was a failed economy was not confined to republicans, journalist Jim Fitzpatrick told the Co-operation Ireland student journalism conference today.
Northern Ireland was “a taker, not a giver” in terms of its fiscal dependence on the rest of the UK. Its annual deficit was £9 billion a year, equivalent to £5,000 a person.
“We are in constant bailout mode, with a handout culture from top to bottom,” said Mr Fitzpatrick, who is business and economics editor of BBC Northern Ireland.
Brendan Keenan, economics editor of the Irish Independent, described the economic situation in the Republic as grim, with a fundamental gap of €6 billion in the public finances which would have to be closed in the next four years.
He said he had no sympathy for those who claimed austerity isn’t working: “Austerity isn’t meant to work. Its purpose is not to make things better; it’s to stop them getting worse. Therefore, it’s not an option over the next three or four years.”
John Walsh, editor of Business and Finance magazine, accused the media of stoking up nationalist sentiment in its coverage of the European economic crisis.
Anti-German sentiment was also on the rise again, with Germany being blamed for holding the rest of Europe to ransom. Yet this view failed to take account of the fact that Germany’s exposure, at over €210 billion, was much greater than anyone else’s.