"Best in Class Gets Testy
By Andrew Stuttaford
April 2, 2012 8:17 A.M.
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As the EUObserver notes, Ireland "has been held up as a shining example of how to beat the crisis – imposing the cuts without seeing widespread social unrest," but there may be limits, even there:
BRUSSELS – Almost half of Irish people have refused to pay a household tax imposed as part of promised savings measures, while government pressure to secure the levy risks further angering an austerity-weary public.
By a Saturday (31 March) midnight deadline, around 805,000 of the country's 1.6 million registered households had paid the tax, which has been subject to a high-profile boycott campaign.
The Irish government agreed to introduce it in 2012 as part of a deal with the EU and the International Monetary Fund – from which it secured an €85 billion loan in 2010.
But it has been unpopular from the very beginning for its across-the-board nature: the same levy is applied both to rich and poor households.
The boycott has been led by nine members of parliament. They compare the campaign to the massive protests in Ireland in the late 19 century against high rents and evictions…
Meanwhile, even if Ireland is outperforming the other PIIGS, the economic road ahead remains tough:
Figures released by the country's national statistics office last week show the country is back in recession, with GDP falling by 0.2 percent for the last quarter of 2011, after falling by 1.1% in the previous quarter.
But the news is not all bad:
The Irish manufacturing sector ended the first quarter of 2012 on a positive note, with output, new orders and employment all rising during March. Meanwhile, cost inflation accelerated further in March amid high oil prices.
The seasonally adjusted NCB Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - – an indicator designed to provide a single figure measure of the health of the manufacturing industry - -posted 51.5 in March, rising back above the 50.0 no-change mark following the reading of 49.7 in February. Although only slight, the improvement in operating conditions was the first in the past five months.
Irish manufacturing firms recorded a solid increase in new orders, with respondents reporting that the introduction of new products had helped to boost demand. A number of panellists signalled growth of new export orders. New business from abroad increased markedly, and at the sharpest pace since May 2011.
As new orders rose, firms increased production at a solid pace. Moreover, the rate of expansion was the fastest in 11 months. Higher new business led to a near-stabilisation in backlogs of work in March, with the rate of depletion much weaker than that seen during February…"
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