“The most recent quarterly national household survey showed that, in 2008, while private sector employment fell by 110,000, public sector numbers were, amazingly, up by 10,000. As recently as Friday, one state agency was advertising jobs in the national newspapers.”
Could this boost in numbers be a ploy by the civil service so that they will have a surplus to offer when the Government come calling for sacrifices in the national interest?
“It’s inconceivable,” says one TD, “that you could have €4bn in tax increases and cuts in spending without having some grenades in the mix.”