Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Previous editions
POLITICIANS are geared to think only as far as the next election. They go into liquidation if they lose their seat.
THERE is an unanswerable case now for the Government to publish a white paper on banking. The multiplicity of reasons for this needs to be chronicled.
THE past week may prove to be a defining moment for the Greens in Government. Before the dawn comes the darkest hour. They learned however much they wish to avoid a general election, Fianna Fáil are even more eager to evade the electorate.
THE media frenzy about George Lee has abated. Opinion is divided whether Fine Gael could have managed him differently or he was impatient, unreasonable and egotistical.
GEORGE Lee has made an eejit of himself. The biggest loser in George Lee’s series of decisions to exit RTÉ and now return is himself. He has reduced his broadcasting and political careers to a media circus. Within a week, this will have evaporated.
BUSINESS strategy has three fundamentals: grow revenue, maintain margins and cut costs. Ireland Inc is now reducing its cost base with unprecedented deflation of 5% over the past year. The public finances trade at a monthly loss of €2bn and the first budgetary steps were taken to arrest this fiscal deficit.
WHY have domestic politics become so boring? Last year, since the local and European elections, there has been a palpable sense of tension and uncertainty within the Dáil and Government.
RECENT public debate about the banking inquiry has failed to highlight the role of property developers as culprits. The explosion of bank credit from 2002 to 2008 and laxity failure by our regulators have been well documented.
THE resistance to a formal inquiry into the collapse of our banking system needs to be confronted head on. Taxpayers are mortgaging their children’s future to preserve Irish financial institutions.
AS a new year unfolds, the next phase of the recession will be more brutal. At every level, be it household, business or nationally, we have been busily adjusting our expenditure in line with reduced incomes and revenue. As the situation deteriorated, we kept our focus on survival. Each situation eventually stabilises.
TODAY is the last day of the noughties decade. Many milestone events have occurred in politics, economics and global affairs.
OUT here in the real economy, the worldly-wise knew in mid-2007 that the Celtic Tiger was dead. Property prices started to fall, spending slowed, job losses accelerated and business sentiment turned sour.
FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan’s budget assertion that “the worst is over” is sadly wide of the mark. There cannot be recovery in the real economy unless and until solutions are found to secure the viability of our banks and building societies.
RATHER like a terminal illness, no matter how rational the expectation, the final act is somewhat shocking. This budget was comprehensively leaked to the media over the past week.
AN Irishman’s notion of foreplay has been described as “Brace yourself, Bridget”. This aptly applies to next week’s budget. The yawning gap between public expenditure and revenue has grown over the past two years and is now at crisis levels.
I AM increasingly convinced that events move in cycles. Our current economic difficulties, particularly the unsustainability of the public finances seem to mirror the 1980s — increased borrowing, political procrastination, public sector conflict and, ultimately, cutbacks.
THE Dáil this week has a pre-budget debate. Eamon Gilmore and Enda Kenny need to watch out for the offside rule. In soccer, no forward can be in front of the last defender other than the goalie, while ahead of the ball. The best defences move up the pitch and suddenly players are ruled offside. The Government’s political defenders are perceptibly shifting ground.
REPORTS indicate the frailty of male mental health. Stress and depression are leading to more psychiatric hospital admissions. Statistics indicate male suicide is up 40%.
POLITICAL and other spin doctors know how to manage a crisis. The critical factor is to hang on. They believe virtually all news media cycles are “nine-day wonders”.
THE cabinet is working a double shift. Along with their regular weekly Tuesday meetings they sit every Thursday to deliberate on the budget. Their target is to obtain a €4bn reduction in public expenditure.
THE NAMA debate has moved on. This week and next, the Dáil will amend the detailed provisions of the legislation.
He was renowned for politicised grant-giving as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism. There is little evidence of personal humility throughout his political career. His penchant for luxury was exceptional and unsustainable. He doesn’t deserve sympathy or victim status because he milked the system
The overriding truth of this entire campaign was the upside of voting Yes was relatively modest to the disastrous impact of a No vote. The prospects of investor confidence collapsing would have incurred lasting long-term damage. There was no Plan C in the event of failure
Brian Lenihan seems to be the only senior Government politician who attempts to give effective leadership. FF’s minor upward blip in the polls is due to his assertive confidence ... He can chart a course for future positive direction for the nation, based on realism and straight speaking
HIGH Court judges Peter Kelly and Frank Clarke found the business plans of Liam Carroll’s Zoe group to be artificial and fanciful. I fear the NAMA plan would equally fail their scrutiny. This does not mean NAMA isn’t a viable solution.
The state guarantee on Irish bank deposits, nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank and NAMA would all have been impossible without the ECB’s €100bn.
Each passing week we add €400m to the national debt to keep the show on the road. We’ll be lucky if the fiscal outcome for 2009 is limited to an appalling gaping deficit of €20bn. Political decisions alone are responsible for this madness. We can’t blame Lehman Bros, subprime lending or the credit crunch
Politicians deeply abhor and detest general elections. All recoil at the personal horror of their own uncertainty. TDs are always in a constant state of denial about the prospects of a pending contest. The profound level of private insecurity has to be felt to be believed.
If you stay around long enough in the one position in politics, you will accumulate a lot of enemies. Harney has not lacked for courage or shirked conflict. Like all warriors, eventually the scars of battle take their toll. Too many health commentators, professionals and leaders want rid of her
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