Enda Kenny and the not so true comment that the irish people’s
Mad borrowing was to blame for the crash
The Taoiseach’s remark that people ‘went mad with borrowing’ provoked protest, but few said stop when the good times rolled
During the boom years in Ireland when you used to have to pay for the privilege to enter some Dublin pubs even before forking out more than ¤5 at the bar for a pint of beer, the nation’s taxi drivers had a favourite, repetitive boast. In between moans about there being “too many bleedin’ foreigners” and who they had in the back of the cab once, Irish cabbies, particularly Dublin drivers, couldn’t wait to tell you about their property portfolios.
They would regale you with tales of how they were just back from the Costa Brava having bought two duplex apartments next to an 18-hole golf course, or that they and their siblings had just purchased a series of buy-for-rent flats at Sunny Beach on the Bulgarian Black Sea. Back at home meanwhile they had just got planning permission to turn the garage beside their humble two-up-two down semi in Finglas into a games room for the kids which would be equipped with the latest plasma 36″ TV screens, full-size pool table, sofa beds for sleepovers, fridges, microwaves and all the other mod cons to keep their off-spring happy and out of mum and dad’s hair.
All these domestic and foreign investments were of course fuelled by bank and building society loans based on the seemingly never-ending rise in equity on their homes. At the height of the Celtic Tiger prosperity in the first half of the last decade, houses prices, like Irish GDP, started to outpace the cost of home ownership in the most affluent parts of the UK.
From the dank gloom of early 2012 this collective spending spree appears like an orgiastic aberration, a blip of boom in the history of a nation more used to struggle, austerity and sacrifice. In short, for nearly a decade, the Irish did go mad before the bust brought them back to earth with a bone shattering bump.
Which makes it all the more puzzling to understand why there has been so much outrage over the last few days about remarks Enda Kenny made at the Davos economic summit last week. During a question and answer session about the Irish economy, the Taoiseach told his audience that the Irish bubble had burst because “people went mad with borrowing.” Elaborating on this, Kenny added: “The extent of personal credit, personal wealth created on credit, was done between people and banks – a system that spawned greed to a point where this went out of control completely with a spectacular crash.”
Kenny’s comments provoked a storm of protest from the opposition benches of Dáil Éireann, such as Sinn Fein who pointed out accurately that his Davos remarks completely contradicted what the Irish premier had said prior to last December’s cost-cutting austerity budget. Softening up the Irish public for a round of cuts and tax hikes, the Taoiseach used a live televised address to explain why the government had to slash programmes and raise VAT. One of Kenny’s first lines was the current economic mess his government was now dealing with was “not your fault”, the implication being that the real fault lay with the builders and speculators, and their chums in the Irish banks who loaned them billions to construct new homes and offices that no one really needed.
However the truth is it wasn’t just the so-called “golden circle” of property developers, bankers and politicians – the latter rail-roading through Irish planning laws to get these projects built – who fuelled the credit-based boom; a huge number of ordinary Irish citizens also placed their bets in the casino-economy, believing that rising equity loaded the dice in their favour.
One of the most startling aspects of the debate over Kenny’s statement of the obvious in Davos was Fianna Fáil’s reaction. They too expressed dismay over the premier seemingly blaming the general populace for the mad-greed laden years of Celtic Tiger prosperity. Yet it was that party which presided over the boom times and were rewarded with three general election victories in a row.
Bertie Ahern’s successive governments from 1997 onwards also spent wildly, creating the most generous social welfare system in Europe, an expansive public sector and pay levels in the public services that vastly outweighed those of other EU nations. One small example of this was a post for chief librarian at a regional university in Ireland during the latter years of the boom. The salary on offer to the successful candidate was almost double what the head of the Bodleian Library at Oxford was on at the time.
In the Ahern era there was widespread government profligacy, such as the aborted so-called “Bertie Bowl” (a proposed single national stadium for soccer) and the use, or rather no-use, of electronic voting machines,which cost tens of millions of euros but were never put into practice.
Meanwhile, the property pages of Irish national newspapers were full of advertisements for investments in all kinds of exotic locations from Ukraine to Cape Verde, as Celtic Tiger man strolled the globe gobbling up vast tracts of land and housing developments. By the mid-noughties, the Irish for example were the second biggest foreign property owners in Berlin with Irish companies establishing offices along famous thoroughfares like the Kürfurstendamm to run portfolios for investment clubs back in the Republic.
Of course the main villains of the piece remain the banks and the speculators, and the political leaders who allowed greed to thrive and the economy to overheat. The “people” though have more right to be outraged over what happened after the boom rather than during it. Even though billions of taxpayers’ euros had to be diverted into the banking system to ensure its survival the banks continue to behave disgracefully, refusing to loan to small and medium enterprises, harassing households with mortgage problems, overcharging customers for going into the red by merely a few euros, etc.
Yet when the good times were rolling how many voices out there were shouting “stop”? The hat-trick of election wins for Fianna Fáil and Ahern from 1997 to 2010 suggests those voices were few and far between. The majority of the country was too busy partying. We were, to borrow an infamous phrase from across the Irish Sea, all in it together. Kenny was merely conveying an inconvenient truth.
As for those Dublin pubs, they used to charge a door fee in order to control the crowds that once flocked into the city centre every day of the week when the nation’s pockets collectively bulged with bundles of euros. These days, Dublin publicans may start paying you for the pleasure of your company given that virtually no one is going out on the town anymore except the tourists and the filthy rich.
915,000 Arthritis sufferers in Ireland
Need regular exercise to manage their condition
Nearly half of people living with arthritis are not taking the necessary exercise that is vital in controlling the condition.
Research has revealed the 42% of people with arthritis lead an inactive lifestyle, which is unhelpful in managing the inflammatory disease.
Regular exercise is essential part of controlling the disease, but a new US study found that not only do patients with the condition abstain from exercise; half of them are unaware that it is vital in managing the disease.
As part of the study, a group of 176 patients were observed by scientists at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. The patients wore accelerometers, which are special devices that measure a person’s acceleration and movement.
Researchers found that 53% of participants had no strong motivation to exercise, while 49% possessed no strong beliefs in the benefits of physical activity.
These two risk factors accounted for nearly 65% of excess inactivity among participants.
Publishing their findings in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, the study authors suggested that steps taken to motivate rheumatoid arthritis patients to do more exercise could benefit public health.
Dr Jungwha Lee, assistant professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine, said: “While there is much evidence of the benefits of physical activity, rheumatoid arthritis patients are generally not physically active, and physicians often do not encourage regular physical activity in this patient population.
“Our results suggest that public health initiatives need to address the lack of motivation to exercise and promote the benefits of physical activity to reduce the prevalence of inactivity in those with rheumatoid arthritis.”
A spokesperson for Arthritis Ireland said: “Regular exercise, along with keeping a healthy weight and eating a balanced diet, are an essential part of controlling the symptoms of arthritis and complement medical treatment. No matter how debilitated a person is by their condition, there is almost always some form of exercise that they can do, from walking to simple stretching, that will aid their treatment and improve their overall quality-of-life.”
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease causes stiffness, swelling and pain in the joints, which can severely impinge on the sufferer’s quality of life.
Arthritis affects 1 in 5 people in Ireland – 915,000 people nationwide. There are over 100 different types of arthritis affecting people of all ages from infants to adults. Sixty percent of people with arthritis are aged under 65 years.
Almost 40,000 people have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis alone in Ireland.
Today 31st Jan Deadline for Government’s early retirement scheme
'Your'e too Late' Wait till end of February
Today is the final day for applications for the Government’s early retirement scheme for public servants before new pension changes come into effect at the end of February.
According to the Department of Public Expenditure, more than 7,000 public sector workers have already applied for retirement.
However, Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin has said up to 9,000 may go by the end of 2012.
The mass exodus is part of the Coalition’s ambitious plan to cut 27,500 staff from the public sector between 2011 and 2015.
By 2015, that quantum would, together with the levy, accrue a saving of €3.5 billion.
As of last week, the figures suggested more than 2,000 application have been received from the education sector, 1,500 of whom are teachers.
In the Civil Service, the number was about 794; local authorities, 730; the Defence Forces, 192 and Garda, 297.
About 3,500 people are expected to leave the health service which is the biggest public sector employer.
Management across a range sectors will this evening know the total numbers leaving their areas, and will have to begin formalising contingency plans for dealing with less staff numbers.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has already indicated that teachers involved with examination classes, and retiring between the end of last year and next month, could continue on the payroll up to the conclusion of the examinations.
A New Guide for Employer’s to respond to those affected by suicide
A new guide to help employers respond appropriately when employees are affected by suicide was unveiled this afternoon.
Suicide bereavement charity Console and the Irish Hospice Foundation developed the guide, Breaking the Silence in the Workplace, in collaboration with the Irish Congress of Trades Unions (Ictu) and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec).
It offers advice on how to sensitively deal with the suicide of a work colleague or former work colleague, and how to support an employee affected by the suicide of someone close to them.
Speaking at the launch of the guide, David Begg, general secretary of Ictu, said it was vital that the modern workplace had in place “agreed systems and practices” to deal with the aftermath of a death by suicide. He said the guide would help achieve that.
“But we must also acknowledge there can be a link between working conditions and suicide and how improving these conditions can be beneficial for suicide prevention,” he said.
“This is of particular importance at a time when working people everywhere are under enormous pressure and suffering with the strain of the current crisis.”
Brendan McGinty, director of industrial relations and human resources at Ibec, described the guide as “comprehensive and practical” and said it would help companies cope and support their employees when dealing with the tragedy of suicide.
Ciaran Austin, director of services with Console, said the things people can do to help after a suicide are “often surprisingly simple”.
“When an employer adopts a proactive, informed and responsible approach to suicide in the workplace they ensure a safe, supportive and productive workplace for all their employees,” he said.
Copies of the guide can be downloaded from console.ie or hospice-foundation.ie or by contacting the Irish Hospice Foundation on 01-6793188 or Console on 01-6102638. Those who have been affected by suicide or who are concerned about a loved one can contact Console at 1800 201890 or through the website above.
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