In part two of a three-part series on Brian Cowen's ill-fated 2008-2011 government, Pat Leahy and Hugh Linehan continue the story. After the fateful 2008 decision to bail out Ireland's banks, Cowen and his Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan spent the next year struggling to shore up Ireland's worsening finances. The mood in the country darkened as recession bit. Spending cuts and tax rises were introduced in a series of hair-shirt budgets, and confidence in Cowen's government was already falling when he made an infamous appearance on national radio.

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