Money is the root of all elections

In 2002 the Government was accused of buying the election with an overly generous budget. This year it could be argued that they’re trying to do the same again with the majority of SSIAs maturing in the coming weeks (what a coincidence!), the launch of the next NDP a few months ago and a not exactly tight-fisted Budget in December last.

But, of course, what works once may not work again, so Departments seem to be going into overdrive with additional announcements of the provision of cash.

These two stories popped up on RTÉ.ie within a half hour of each other, promising a total of €70 million to Bus Eireann and the meat industry (which seems to be a rehash of a pledge from the NDP anyway).

Something tells me this is only the beginning.