The union-backed Nevin Economic Research Institute has challenged claims that Irish public spending is too high. Its director Tom Healy has questioned the international comparisons cited in a recent article by the Independent group’s economics editor Brendan Keenan, who had argued that Irish public spending was still too high despite the cuts.

Keenan argued that Irish per capita public spending was higher than in France, Germany and Britain in 2011. “Most of the cuts just prevented large increases in public spending, rather than achieving actual reductions,” he wrote.

Responding in a blog called Are we overspending?, Healy said all international comparisons should to be treated with caution. “The particular year in which OECD reports is 2011, when Irish public spending was boosted by the amount of money injected into private banks,” he wrote.

Healy points out that Irish public spending is consistently lower than the EU average “except for 2010 when a huge amount of money was injected as capital transfers into the banks.” He also said the high cost of unemployment, which is much worse here than most other EU countries, boosts Irish public spending on benefits, medical cards and other services.

He concludes that Irish per capita public spending is comparable to countries of similar size and economic development.

The figures come from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Government at a Glance, which looks at comparative data on a range of economic and social areas.