The shock revision to the 2010 deficit and debt estimates has raised serious concerns about the sustainability of Ireland’s public finances. If in the next four years the country neared the deficit targets agreed with the European Union, long-term sustainability would be a joke. The drafting by mid-November of a credible package of measures delivering a break-even primary balance in a few years, without triggering an economic depression, will be very complex. But it is a challenge Ireland can no longer avoid
