Reliance on austerity counter-productive, says Emily Logan

The belief that austerity must continue to be enforced “requires constant re-assessment and analysis”, the Chief Commissioner for Human Rights has said.

Emily Logan, speaking at an international conference on human rights in Dublin on Thursday, said any suggestion that economic recovery meant austerity had been justified was a "false equation".

“Clearly the experience has demonstrated, if experience was needed, that that reliance on austerity has been counter-productive.

“The impact of the seven-year austerity drive on people’s standard of living has been enormous, and in all regions the effects of the crisis are impacting on the realisation of human rights,” she said.

“Worse still, the burden of hardship of the crisis and the dominant policies has fallen disproportionately on those least able to bear its impact.”

Government had choices

The Government had had choices other than a full reliance on austerity when deciding how to meet the demands of the troika in 2010, including burning the bondholders or offering easy terms and conditions for loans.

“Even within the limited range of options under the troika-imposed austerity programme, there were still choices available to decisions-makers,” she continued.

It was now time for a critical re-evaluation of the crisis.

"Notwithstanding - and this is not a very palatable position for many in Ireland - Ireland's status as 'best pupil in the class' among our EU peers, the message from the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, earlier this week was crystal clear – that fiscal consolidation must continue.

“For this reason, we must continue to evaluate the policies and budgetary choices open to decision-makers in coming months and in future budgets which will take place under the watchful eye of the troika’s post-bailout review for some time to come.”

Ms Logan was addressing a conference hosted by the Free Legal Advice Centres (Flac) and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).

Karim Lahidji, president of the federation, said human rights were "increasingly being sacrificed across Europe to a political and economic agenda".

‘Devastating impact’

“It is crucial European civil society comes together and sends a strong message to decision-makers: ‘You simply cannot implement austerity measures without taking into account the devastating impact these can have on human rights’.”

Dimitris Christopoulos, vice-president of the federation and chair of the Hellenic League for Human Rights in Greece, said the EU itself was "a human rights problem".

He said the results of his country’s January election, which resulted in the left-wing Syriza party forming a government with a mandate to roll back the austerity agenda, was “not given any consideration by Europe”.