OPPONENTS OF Ireland’s bailout have announced a programme of protests and other events to coincide with the latest visit by the EU-IMF delegation overseeing the rescue package.
The Enough campaign, which wants a referendum on the austerity programme, plans a series of demonstrations focusing on cuts in education and special needs assistants, bus services and the public service during the 10 days of the EU-IMF mission.
Mission teams from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission have begun their review of Ireland’s economic performance until the end of June 2011 and the Government’s adherence to the terms of the €84 billion bailout package.
The teams, comprising more than 20 officials, began their review in Dublin yesterday, which is expected to last eight days.
The mission heads are expected to hold discussions over the weekend or early next week with Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin, the governor of the Central Bank Patrick Honohan and the head of the National Treasury Management Agency, John Corrigan.
IMF deputy director for Europe Ajai Chopra has not travelled, it is understood. It is believed he is heavily involved with the IMF’s involvement in dealing with the Greek crisis.
Both the Department of Finance and the Central Bank have expressed confidence that all of the 17 or so plans identified in the EU-IMF memorandum of understanding for the second quarter of 2011 have been completed or are well under way.
There is expectation that at least some of the discussions over the next seven days will focus on the Government’s plans for later in the year, including commitments to reform sheltered employment sectors, Mr Howlin’s comprehensive savings review, as well as preliminary talks on the budget.
Mr Noonan said this week that the Government would seek a renegotiation of the memorandum later this year to allow it to frame a budget that did not accord with the present terms to which it must comply.
Announcing the planned protests by the Enough campaign, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett likened the bailout deal to the US bombing of Vietnam in the 1960s.
“The logic of the EU-IMF deal is as deranged as that used by the US in the Vietnam war. There they said they had to destroy villages in order to save them. Here the EU-IMF and our own Government are telling us they have to destroy our economy to save it.”
Mr Boyd Barrett called for an uprising of people power against the “cannibal logic” of the austerity programme. He claimed the size of protests against the bailout would escalate as cutbacks started to bite. “Anyone who thinks the Irish don’t protest will be eating their words very soon.”
However, Waterford TD John Halligan said people were “tired and worn down”.
He said it was unfortunate that not enough people were taking to the streets in protest at cutbacks. Austerity measures had never worked and would not work for Ireland in its current crisis.