Davy, look again at SF’s spendy ideas
● Sir — Last Sunday, Jody Corcoran briefly touched on an issue that has received surprisingly little coverage and even less close scrutiny.
He mentioned that Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty had reassured Davy investors (and by extension, the finance sector generally) that his party in government will “tame” its own extreme policies and so presumably ensure that an Ireland under a Sinn Féin government is a safe place in which to invest.
Doherty’s move followed a steady drop in support for his party, in part caused by genuinely held fears that even the possibility of a Sinn Féin regime will send the foreign direct investment sector scurrying for safer havens.
Indeed, there is anecdotal evidence that this is more than mere scaremongering; Sinn
Féin and investment don’t make a great fit. If we are to believe Doherty, responsible spending will be the order of the day, with no mad shopping sprees that might drive up our taxes.
But maybe we should look at the reality and not the rhetoric. The draft All-Island Strategic
Rail Review is a document that will define rail investment up to 2050. It has found no case to build a railway between Claremorris and Charlestown in Mayo on the so-called “western rail corridor” that is a staple of Sinn Féin’s electioneering in the west.
Speaking at the Dáil Petitions Committee recently, Sinn Féin’s Rose Conway-Walsh was anxious to reassure her supporters that being careful with money won’t be an issue if they get to hold the purse.
She mentioned a budget surplus of €6.5bn, but when alluding to the current government prudence in putting money aside for strategic investment, she said: “The funding is there to be able to do it [build the railway]. Notwithstanding the national railway review, it is a government decision on where to allocate resources.”
So there you have it. Sinn Féin in government won’t be hobbled by expert advice or fact-based planning, but will spend, spend, spend as they see fit. I look forward to the spectacle, if not the bill. Davy might like to ask Pearse Doherty to clarify things. John Mulligan,
Boyle, Co Roscommon