While the TDs were on their 40-day Christmas break, a total of 13,000 workers lost their jobs
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THE country's TDs returned yesterday to a changed economic landscape after their 40-day Christmas break.
Since the Dail finished its last session on December 18, an estimated 13,000 workers have lost their jobs and the problems in the banking sector, the property market and the exchequer finances have continued to worsen.
The Dail broke for Christmas on December 18, at a time when an average of 945 workers a day were losing their jobs.
And coupled with these job losses of about 9,000 up to the end of December, there have been at least 4,510 more job losses since the new year in dozens of different companies. The biggest, and the most politically controversial, was the loss of 1,900 jobs at Dell's manufacturing plant in Limerick.
The other businesses which have announced job losses in the past 40 days include: First Active (750 jobs); Superquinn (400); the Kostal car parts firm in Cork and Kerry (300); soft drinks firm Britvic (160); Alps Electric firm in Cork (30); the Quality Hotel in Killarney (50); the Amann factory in Tralee (120); US medical insurance company Cigna in Galway (180); Bus Eireann (200); Dublin Bus (290); Kildare County Council (78); Taconic International in the midlands (32); and Microsoft in Dublin (20).
During the same period, TDs have earned around €12,000 out of their €110,000 annual salaries, as well as building up valuable pension entitlements.
However, the government chief whip Pat Carey has confirmed that reductions in salaries for TDs and senators will be part of the forthcoming plan to implement €2bn in emergency spending cutbacks.
There were protests from the opposition at the length of the break, with Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny claiming yesterday that the Dail should have returned on January 7.
Plummet
During the period, the extent of the crisis in the exchequer finances became clear with Taoiseach Brian Cowen announcing that massive spending cuts would be needed to reduce the €16bn hole in the public finances.
The share prices of Irish banks continued to plummet, and Anglo Irish Bank suffered the most after it was revealed that its former chairman, Sean FitzPatrick, had received €87m in secret personal loans.
The prospect of the bank collapsing meant that TDs had to return for a special Dail sitting on January 20 to pass the emergency legislation required to nationalise it.
But the banking crisis and the mounting job losses were only one sign of the changed economic landscape confronting the political class.
Despite predictions from Mr Cowen that the fall in property prices would "bottom out" this year, the market showed no signs of recovery over the traditionally slow Christmas period.
Two reports published during the period confirmed that prices slid by up to 15pc last year.
- Michael Brennan Political Correspondent
