43,500 Euro for your Vote?

43,500 euro each. That is what the Irish government offered the Irish people today in the new 184 billion euro National Development Plan.

The Government says it is focused at addressing economic weaknesses which include significant infrastructural deficits, unbalanced regional development, disadvantaged areas, housing affordability, science and technology and concerns about loss of competitiveness.

That almost sounds like what the opposition should be saying. After all these are the people who have been in power for the last 10 years. 10 years of unprecedented economic prosperity and they are now promising to fix "infrastructural deficits, unbalanced regional development, disadvantaged areas, housing affordability, science and technology and concerns about loss of competitiveness." What were the last 10 years, just one long learning curve?