Bailout exit uncertain amid losses

The Budget sidelined the bank losses for last year, which were €5.96bn between AIB and Bank of Ireland.

Next year’s losses will tell if austerity is working, or will this country crawl back to the EU for more money. The Government says it can exit the bailout programme, but it is not certain, and it could be a rocky road even if it does.

The phone allowance was an extravagance of the debt-leveraged boom and deserved to be scrapped. Let’s face it: this is a country talking itself to death. We all know there are people who should not have medical cards, given their incomes and access to occupational medical schemes.