Brian Lenihan said the bank guarantee scheme was “a necessary first step” and “the cheapest bailout in the world so far” compared with bank rescues where “billions and billions of taxpayers’ money are being poured into financial institutions”. “It allows us to move on and examine other questions which may have to be addressed to… Continue reading Remember this?
Tag: political promises
An Cúige
David Cameron has let the cat out of the bag. Northern Ireland costs too much. Wikipedia puts the cost to the British exchequer at five billion quid in 2006. That’s one fifth of all economic output. Annually. Despite this, the North remains an economic basketcase. By contrast, the Republic benefited from a EU investment in… Continue reading An Cúige
Basic Law
In a attempt to appear radical, Fine Gael are pitching a series of constitutional amendments if elected into government. Some are cosmetic. Reducing the president’s term of office from seven to five years, the right to petition the Oireachtas. Some are welcome. More powers to (some) Oireachtas committees. Some are sheer populism. Cut the number… Continue reading Basic Law
Priorities
Yesterday, the government published the Murphy report, the results of an investigation into the sexual abuse of children in the Dublin diocese, and how complaints were handled. This is not the first such report. The Ferns Inquiry was published in 2005. Earlier this year Ryan looked at institutional child abuse. So after the initial rage… Continue reading Priorities
He’s Back
Declan Ganley has re-entered the fray. The news – announced sideways in a Wall Street Journal interview – contradicts his vow to quit if he didn’t win a seat in the Euro elections. As recently as mid-August, Ganley repeated his promise in a series of twitter posts. Asked if he planned to get involved in… Continue reading He’s Back
Waterways
In years gone by, politicians were fond of promising, come election time, that they would drain the Shannon basin. Commissions were set up to look into the engineering requirements, committees met to consider the benefits for agriculture in areas prone to frequent flooding, the tourism industry would prosper, and hydroelectric power would heat every home… Continue reading Waterways
Word Power
Let’s call a spade a spade. It’s not an income levy, it’s a tax increase. Depending on your income, Brian Lenihan just delivered you a tax increase of between up to two percent. The minister is faced with a hole in the public finances, and to close the gap between revenue and expenditure he has… Continue reading Word Power