Who’s left in the wake of Irish austerity?

Abstract

With the sole exception of Iceland, the downturn in the Irish economy in 2007 and 2008 was the most severe of any experienced by an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member state. In Ireland, the crisis was widely understood to have five key dimensions: a banking crisis, a public finance crisis, an economic crisis, a social crisis and a reputational crisis. This article examines the political impact of that crisis, focusing in particular on the impact that austerity politics has had upon the evolution of the Irish left. The article traces the political responses to crisis inside and outside the Dáil and examines their potential to support the growth of anti-austerity politics in Ireland.