Is austerity inevitable? Will drastic cuts to our living standards be required to make sure the bond markets lend to us again? A new report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council suggests we might need billions in cuts after 2022 to stabilise our state’s finances and pay off debts run up through the crisis. What are our options? There are two components of the government’s fiscal response to the crisis: disaster relief and stimulus. We are almost at the peak of the large-scale disaster relief part of the crisis. Including those receiving pandemic supports, unemployment is over 28 per cent.…