THE FORMER minister for finance responsible for the toughest budgets in the history of the state is expecting Brian Lenihan's first budget to be as harsh as anything he ever delivered.

Richie Ryan, lampooned as 'Richie Ruin' on RTÉ's satirical TV show Hall's Pictorial Weekly, does not envy Lenihan's task this Tuesday and even believes it was easier for the state to borrow in the 1970s than it is now.

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune, the 79-year-old said, "The one big difference between this budget and the 1970s is that there were loads of dollars to be borrowed from the oil-producing states in the 1970s.

"They had massive supplies of dollars after oil quadrupled in price within three months. The perceived wisdom was that states should borrow rather than let their economies go into decline. On this occasion there is a credit squeeze so there is less money available to borrow.

"Even if the money was available, you have to be careful as you have to repay the capital with interest. The recession in the 1980s was primarily caused by the 1977 government change as the government continued to borrow money and they had difficulty in repaying it."

Ryan, a Dublin South West TD, became minister for finance when Fine Gael came to power in 1973 and held the portfolio for four tough years under Liam Cosgrave.

Even though he will be forever remembered as 'Richie Ruin', Ryan claims he never watched Hall's Pictorial Weekly and believes Hall had a "political agenda" against him.

"I never saw the programme because I was too busy working night and day. Apparently it was quite vicious. I knew all about it because the ministers would come into the cabinet room and they would be demanding that steps be taken against RTÉ."

Ryan recalled how the minister for posts and telegraphs at the time, Conor Cruise O'Brien, was against the government making a complaint against RTÉ as it would have amounted to interfering with press freedom.

"Frank Hall was dedicated to Fianna Fáil, and he was even appointed as the national film censor by them," Ryan says. "He had a political agenda. The programme went off air shortly after Fianna Fáil got into power."

Looking towards Lenihan's first budget on Tuesday, the former MEP said, "The possibility is that they may overdo the cuts now so they will have time to overcome it [the economic slump] in time for the next general election.

"By then, they will have built up a little nest egg and they will bribe the electorate with their own money."

Ryan is not wholly critical of Lenihan and believes it is too early to judge his tenure as minister for finance. He agrees with the government's bank guarantee scheme and said, "I think it was the right thing to do. What may happen in the next six or 12 months is impossible to tell. It is better to have a guarantee than to have the alternative which is the collapse of banks and money flying out of the country."

Recalling his four years in the hot seat, he said, "The tough times began in 1973 so the 1974 and 1975 budgets were particularly tough. By the end of 1976 we had a growth rate of 5%. We had rescued the country after the slump but the foreign borrowing continued into the 1980s when it should have stopped."

Sparing a thought for Lenihan, Ryan added, "It is the cabinet that makes the decisions on the budget. The minister for finance only has one equal vote at cabinet but he has the job of delivering the bad news.

"So it was Muggins here that had to deliver the bad news and accept the blame. You shouldn't be in the job unless you can accept the heat in the kitchen.

"Honestly if you respect the duty that is imposed upon you, you do what is necessary. If the other ministers don't make the cuts in their own departments then the minster for finance has to do it.

"The minister for finance defends the taxpayer 364 days a year but is blamed when the ministers' decisions come home to roost on budget day."

Fine Gael lost power in the 1977 general election and Ryan became the party's spokesperson on foreign affairs. He was elected an MEP in 1973 and from 1977 to 1979. Among his proudest achievements was his appointment to the European Court of Auditors in 1986.

Ryan, who lives in Clonskeagh, Dublin, says he does not miss politics and added, "I served as vice president of the European budget committee and budget control committees of the European parliament so I stayed close to finance throughout my career.

"I must have satisfied somebody as I was elected president of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in 1976."