Taoiseach Enda Kenny has claimed “loosening the purse strings” to appease unions risks forcing Ireland back to the “when I have it I spend it recklessness that brought the country to the brink”, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith of the Irish Examiner.

The Fine Gael leader made the controversial comment as hundreds of schools were shut today due to Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland industrial action and as it emerged there is internal Garda Representatives Association disagreement over whether the GRA should cancel its strike threat completely.

Speaking at a Brexit briefing event in Dublin on Monday, Mr Kenny admitted the ASTI situation “doesn’t help” the potential difficulties facing the Irish economy due to the fallout from the recent British vote.

Stressing the need not to over-spend or over-heat Ireland’s financial recovery, he added that a “loosening of the purse strings” could lead to serious problems for the State.

“Our education system has to be fit for 21st century purpose providing our young people with a solid foundation in which they will learn their future skills.

“The unilateral decision of the ASTI to withdraw from supervision and substitution doesn’t help that case.

“We cannot go back to the boom-and-bust, the when-I-have-it-I-spend-it recklessness that brought the country to the brink.

“And, to those who argue for a so-called loosening of the purse-strings, they should remember that loose spending eventually has to be reined in, and when that has to happen in an unplanned way, it bears hardest on those who rely most on public services and supports,” he said.