The Workers Party have said that Taoiseach Brian Cowen is only deluding himself if he believes that the economy has turned a corner and is on an upturn out of recession.

Ballymun / Finglas Workers Party for Dublin City Council Owen Martin said that Mr. Cowen’s claim that the economy could return to rapid growth next year had no statistical foundation whatsoever and the Taoiseach was grasping at straws in order to give Fianna Fáil candidates a boost in next weeks elections.

“Brian Cowen is not only seeing the proverbial two swallows as a sign of an economic summer but as a virtual heat wave.  He and the entire Fianna Fáil party, along with their Green Party colleagues in government are in absolute denial at the state they have brought the country into.  They cannot see that their limitless feeding of cash to the voracious banks has nearly bankrupted the country and caused mayhem for hundreds of thousands of working people. Not only that but they still think that Fianna Fáil’s electoral bacon will be saved by an economic miracle at the very last minute.  It is not going to happen”, said Owen Martin.

The Finglas based Workers Party said that there was a clear hunger among people for real change in this election and that commentators would be wrong to assume that Fianna Fáil would merely get a rap on the knuckles from voters this time and carry on with “business as usual”.   “I have never seen voters so angry with a government and many of them are also dissatisfied with the main opposition parties.  They want total change this time and all bets are off with regards to who will be returned to Dublin City Council next week”, said Owen Martin.

Mr. Martin is one of two Workers Party candidates contesting the local elections in the Ballymun / Finglas ward.  His colleague is Ballymun based John Dunne.

Issued 29th May 2009