Great news on the debt - but we're still as poor as before

DÁIL SKETCH:GOOD NEWS – sort of. Repayment of a massive instalment of an even more massive debt is postponed.

Alas, it still has to be paid.

As the Great Liberator, Daniel O’Connell, supposedly said when asked by two road workers for his views about a pending byelection: “Whatever the outcome, you’ll still be breaking stones tomorrow.”

The household charge stone, the rock of the universal social charge, the stick of the VAT hike, the cuts in health and education... They certainly have not gone away.

The Minister warned about this while breaking the good news. He may have feared an outbreak of euphoria and dancing in the streets with the bunting and balloons almost up.

But in his wonderfully lugubrious manner, he reminded the assembled throng – rather large for the last afternoon of the last day of the spring Dáil session: there’ll be no change to any of the budget measures. Our exchequer debt is still €15.8 billion.

If jobs are to be created “we must continue on the path of closing this gap over time”. And a master sentence of departmentspeak: “We must keep our eye on the greater benefits which would derive from the re-engineering of the promissory note and also the potential improvements for the continuing banking sector which could also stem from the ongoing technical discussions.”

There will be some clever footwork involving all those great agencies of State and of the EU – the Department of Finance, Nama, the NTMA, the former Anglo Irish Bank, the Central Bank, the partially State-owned Bank of Ireland. A note will be issued, cash will be transferred and the debt will be rescheduled in a different way and over a much longer period.

But says the Minister: “We all want to arrive at a successful conclusion that is in the interests of Ireland and the EU.” That means keep noses to the grindstone. All the hard work and reform must continue.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny, just in the door from China, sat beside the Minister. Whether it was jet lag or knowledge that while it was good news it wasn’t great news, he didn’t look very happy.

And the Opposition were most unhappy. For all the talk of reform and making the Dáil more relevant and current, they didn’t even get a chance to comment on the deal. The Ceann Comhairle said there was no provision because it was the Minister (not the Taoiseach) making the announcement. “Precedent rules out any further statements.”

And what was more important, relevant, topical and urgent than news about changes in Ireland’s debt burden? Sheep worrying by dogs on the Cooley peninsula.

It was the next of the “topical issues” to be discussed when they were interrupted for the Minister’s announcement.

Luke “Ming” Flanagan summed it up succinctly: “Anything but topical issues.” And of course all the other planned Dáil reforms continue apace – longer Dáil sittings . . . oops, the Dáil went into recess for almost three weeks. It used to sit during Easter week but, sure, they need to attend all those Holy Week ceremonies. And the main prayer: “God make us good, but not just yet.”