Just read two articles in the Irish Times (on the same page). In one, our glorious Minister for Education (Ruari Quinn) stood up in the Dáil to defend the jobs of employees of the State-controlled banks.  Despite the fact that these banks have shrunk in activity by an enormous amount and are under orders to shrink further, he stated (and I quote) that it is too early to talk about redundancies.

In the adjacent article a Fine Gael TD cheers on while the Minister for Education (!) cuts 400+ teachers from DEIS schools; where there is no foreseeable reduction in demand or activity.  I would say that this is astonishing for a minister allegedly in a socialist party.  But that hardly covers the case does it. Forget about your political party.  Rank hypocrisy is rank hypocrisy, whatever your political leanings.  Utter stupidity is utter stupidity: on the Right as well as the Left.

How in God's name can he justify this protection of bankers with nothing to do while savaging the basic protection of the weakest in our society? It can't be money, it must be some sick ideology Labour have imbibed from the blueshirts.  Public sector bad; private sector good.  So long as people like him are running the system we're all screwed.