Republic – Page 56 – Slugger O'Toole

“While the scheme has its merits..”

Pete Baker on October 29, 2008, 1:54 am

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Halifax Bank of Scotland have decided not to join the Republic of Ireland’s bank guarantee scheme, despite previously saying they would join to ensure “a level playing field”. They’ve cited the UK government’s banking bail-out. From the Irish Times report. “While the scheme has its merits, and it may suit some of our competitors to join, from our strong financial position it doesn’t suit us,” Mark Duffy, chief executive officer at Bank of Scotland (Ireland), said in a statement. “It …

Fianna Fail 26%, Fine Gael 33%

Mick Fealty on October 27, 2008, 2:33 am

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As Brian notes the tables may be turning in Scotland, the climate is definately changing in the Republic if the latest Red C poll for the Sunday Business Post is anything to go by. It’s the scale of the swings that strike you first. As Pat Leahy notes: “Fianna Fáil support has plunged by 10 percentage points since late September”. That’s one hell of a big dipper ride. And the winners: Labour and Fine Gael are up by 6% and …

“to the dismay of their political leaders..”

Pete Baker on October 26, 2008, 7:55 pm

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On the Politics Show, BBC NI’s Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison sketches out the historical relationship between the Republic of Ireland and the EU, and sees a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty as being “most likely”. Pete Baker

“money was used to part finance the purchase of shares in Anglo Irish Bank..”

Pete Baker on October 24, 2008, 11:46 pm

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There’s a detailed iol report, and a BBC report, on the record fines [€3.25million] imposed by the Republic of Ireland’s Financial Regulator on Quinn Insurance Ltd, and on Sean Quinn personally [€200,000]. Sean Quinn has resigned as chairman and as a director of that company, but not from the Quinn Group, following a lengthy investigation by the Financial Regulator which found reasonable cause to suspect “contraventions by QIL of obligations under the Insurance Acts and Regulations, including failure to notify …

Bertie’s band of buddies coming apart at the seams…?

Mick Fealty on October 21, 2008, 1:25 pm

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Aha, it looks like Bertie’s Band of Buddies in the Dail is cracking up under the strain of a tough budget… World By Storm was on the ball earlier than most. He points out that this could mean that Sinn Fein’s year long wandering in the Dail wilderness without speaking rights, if they can cut a deal with estranged Fianna Fail TD Joe Behan and Tony Gregory. It was a coalition tied with bits of loose string from the Ahern …

Are politicians fit for the job they actually do…?

Mick Fealty on October 21, 2008, 1:03 pm

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One of our new bloggers, Dan Sullivan is on Limerick radio this morning at 9.30am… talking about whether the politicians people chose are actually fit for the job… Hmmm… good question!!! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

“But is that where Ireland really wants to be?”

Mick Fealty on October 20, 2008, 12:48 pm

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Tomaltach has been to Brussels where: Irish MEPs and officials frankly admitted that the No to Lisbon has made their job harder – not just in dealing with colleagues, but dealing with third parties as well. One MEP said that in dicussions with American companies thinking about investing in Ireland that the No has thrown up a cloud of confusion about whether Ireland will remain at the heart of Europe. …there will be no substantial opening up of Lisbon. Though …

“it belongs to another world that has long passed…”

Pete Baker on October 18, 2008, 2:02 am

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The First and deputy First Ministers may have had separate, but equal, meetings with Taoiseach Brian Cowen today [more on that stalemate here] against a backdrop of internal Fianna Fáil dissent over the medical card confusion, growing unease about the Home Choice Loans scheme, and criticism from the Church of Ireland, if not any mention, yet, of the Lisbon manoeuvring.. And, in referencing Brian Lenihan’s comments, Henry McDonald makes an important observation in his Guardian article – just as protest …

Lenihan levy shows little confidence in tax system

Mick Fealty on October 16, 2008, 1:11 pm

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P O’Neill nominates the 1p and 2p levies as the single most damning aspect of Brian Lenihan’s budget. Not for what it says about the budget, but for the questions is raises about a tax system that may no longer be fit for purpose: …it reveals a belief (which he confirmed yesterday) that he went for a levy because he did not trust the income tax system to fairly distribute the burden of higher taxes: upper income people would have …

“this was the consequence if people opted to buy in another State..”

Pete Baker on October 16, 2008, 1:26 am

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Here’s a fascinating report from RTÉ on comments by the Republic of Ireland’s Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, responding to queries about the Budget on RTÉ Radio this morning. The Minister for Finance has said an increase in the number of people travelling North of the border to do their shopping had made things ‘very, very difficult’ when he was framing the Budget. He said there was huge loss of revenue to Northern Ireland, because of the number of goods and …

The Lenihan Levy and other post budget reactions…

Dan Sullivan on October 15, 2008, 8:02 pm

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The reaction so far to Brian Lenihan’s first budget is that (a) this isn’t going to fix the problem of the unbalanced nature of the tax revenue base (b) the predicted parameters are (unemployment 7.3%, negative growth this year of 1.5% and next year 1%, and the deficit of 6.5%) very much on the optimistic side and hence they are hostages to fortune (c) and Lenihan has been far too technocratic in his choices and his demeanour on this – …

The night of the negative equity…

Mick Fealty on October 15, 2008, 5:38 pm

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Langerland obviously had a certain Minister of Finance in mind when they made this… (not work safe, and slow download)… Not to mention throwing some of RTE’s economic doomsayers into the mix… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

‘We can always hope for more emigration…’

Mick Fealty on October 15, 2008, 3:22 pm

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Nice first round up post on the budget from our new southern blogger, Paddy McEvoy. Welcome on board Paddy! On the same subject, here’s an early round up on how the blogs saw it. Conaill was out of the blocks early (barely before the speech had ended, with a line Labour Party spokeswoman used shortly after in the Dail, On yer bike, a dig at the Greens, over the scaling back of some infrastructure projects and a Norman Tebbit inference. …

“political and economic conditions are much closer tied..”

Pete Baker on October 14, 2008, 10:22 pm

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Economic concerns loomed large on Stormont Live today. First up there was some to-ing and fro-ing between UUP MLA David McNarry and the Northern Ireland Finance Minister, the DUP’s Nigel Doods, on a claimed budgetary short-fall before, in the studio, economist Neill Gibson attempted to bring some clarity to the discussion – Adds related story here. Then down to Dublin, and Shane Harrison on the pre-budget speculation, and back to Neill Gibson again. Pete Baker

Irish Budget 2008: expecting lots of pain…

Mick Fealty on October 14, 2008, 6:04 pm

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We’ve tried this before, but I thought today’s budget in Dublin would give us another chance to try out some a little more free flowing for Brian Lenihan’s big day in the sun. Favourite quote of the day so far (from Fergal O’Rourke, I think): “I don’t think this is the last of the bad budgets. Next year’s is going to be worse!” Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet …

Brit blog round up 191…

Mick Fealty on October 13, 2008, 4:23 pm

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A truly awesome Brit Blog Round Up from Redmption Blues. She raises a number of topics, not least the abortion non debate in Northern Ireland, a few thoughts on which I hope to kick in later today. Good reportage and some warm words on the Slugger Awards too… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across …

IRA may be latest victim of sub prime collapse…

Mick Fealty on October 13, 2008, 2:37 pm

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This piece comes with a health warning since it is based on a number of unnamed sources, yet it’s worth noting nonetheless. It alleges that the IRA’s financial portfolio has lost considerable amount of its value because those responsible for its management failed to take evasive action and “get out at the top of the property market and sink the money into high-dividend deposit accounts in Wall Street in the past few years.” It seems plausible given the dramatic turbulence …

“the main liquidity problems lay with Depfa in Dublin..”

Pete Baker on October 6, 2008, 3:47 pm

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It’s not clear how much of a direct cause and effect there was between the announcement of the Republic of Ireland’s government tax-payer guarantee for Irish banks and the collapse of the loan arrangement for Munich-based Hypo Real Estate, but the sequence of events is worth noting given the role of HRE’s Dublin-based subsidiary Depfa. And there’s a facinating report in the Irish Times which hints at the possible connection. The Munich-based HRE says the problems stem from its Dublin-based …

Towards a civil society online?

Mick Fealty on October 4, 2008, 2:15 pm

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I couldn’t get to the Organise, Activate, Influence conference in Dublin this morning, but I have sent this ad hoc ‘soapbox’ piece in which I argue that we need more Irish bloggers who take the whole business of mainstream politics more seriously if citizens are to be able exert more influence on the way politics is done between elections. Outside a handful of sites, like Politics.ie and Irish Election that’s far from the norm. Our excellent recent recruit Brian Walker …

“The Irish Government should have done what the Swedes did in 1991.”

Pete Baker on October 2, 2008, 3:32 pm

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Whether the Oireachtas is, as Brian put it, “performing an awful lot better than the US political system” is open to question. Whereas in the US public concern at the bail-out was reflected in the initial Congressional vote, in the Oireachtas the extension of the tax-payers’ guarantee reflected political concerns in the UK and the EU. The US Senate has now passed the bail-out bill back to the House of Representatives. But in the Republic of Ireland, despite Richard Delevan’s …