Editorial – The boundaries of endurance

AS the Minister for Finance took centre stage this week to detail what pain the people of Ireland will have to endure in the coming twelve months, there were Dickensian scenes being played out in the Treaty city. It’s frequently said that no-one in this country goes hungry. That is no longer true. This week in the Limerick District court, three middle-aged lone parents with no previous convictions were before the bench for stealing firelighters and milk. Not cigarettes, alcohol or luxury goods – foodstuff and the means to heat a home for their children.

As this article is being written, the Corbett suicide prevention group were preparing to spend Wednesday night on the banks of the river Shannon in the firm belief that this is the budget that will push people beyond endurance and past the point where precious life holds any sweetness or hope.
There can be few more painful situations than the one in which a parent cannot put milk in a baby’s bottle or light a fire to keep the bitterly cold nights at bay. So painful that to some, stepping off the poverty treadmill and into the river seems like the only option.
Meanwhile, superannuated bank executives can sip good brandy before a roaring fire in the golf club, secure in the knowledge that despite some of their ilk having brought the economy crashing down, their pensions are sacrosanct.
Earlier this week, Enda Kenny warned there would be difficult decisions to make and he hoped the people of Ireland would understand.
It’s doubtful that the people who were – or were not – talked down off the bridge on Wednesday night will understand.
And when it comes to difficult decisions, the decision whether to let a child go cold and hungry or break is the law is right up there on the list.