Archive for April, 2009

Those familiar with George Orwell’s classic,1984, no doubt recognised doublespeak when they heard it last week in Dáil Eireann. In 1984, the official language of the state described things as being precisely the opposite of what they actually were. In Ireland, the Cowen administration is at the same thing. Have they no shame?

Ireland, once more unto the breach..well hold on there Mr Government and Mr Banker, just because you massively contributed to the problem does not mean you can solve the problem between you. Wholesale write downs of Mortgages, Credit Card Debt and Personal Loans ought to be the rally cry now of us, the afflicted and…

The state should introduce a compulsary Bond(15 years) in lieu of further tax hikes and cuts in social welfare and possibly backed by the newly aquired “assets” of NAMA. I believe people would be far more inclined to suffer pain now for tanigble future gain (their Bonds maturing) rather than the current intangable reward on…

Being in the factory in China that makes Irish football shirts is a surreal place from which to comment on the Budget. But bizarre as it sounds, sitting here allows the altitude that is necessary to try to see the big picture. Not that this place is conducive to reflection: it is busy, sweaty, noisy and filthy.

Irish Government propose to the Euro zone members that an “Euro Zone Integrated Financial Regulatory Body” is set up under the auspices of the European Central Bank. In turn this Body would have a permanent representative sitting on all the individual Financial Regulatory Boards of the participating Euro Zone countries. A new dynamic Irish Regulatory…

Much like the Central Bank, set up an independent tax commission to set tax policy in Ireland – fiscal policy is more important now than ever before because of ECB controlling monetary policy. Advantages: – tax policy set by full-time professionals, even perhaps a couple of economists. – a balanced tax framework – not one…

The following problems are obvious to all; (i) the economy is suffering from a lack of competitiveness and (ii) the Government is finding it impossible to balance the books Why not standardise pay in the public sector to the European average for that profession? This would alleviate both problems and the money saved can be…

Shares in the 2 main Irish Banks are split A & B. The A shares represent a good bank. The B shares represent a bad bank or property asset management company. Shares would be traded as a single entity. A and B would carry separate non transferable values and could never be worth less than…

While practically all of the focus this week will be on the budget, the plan to clean up the banking system will be of more long-term significance to the country. The bank clean-up goes to the core of our monetary policy. Without properly functioning banks, we will not pass any interest rates cuts onto the economy. We will have an engine, but no petrol so to speak.

Health & Policy: Reduce Healthcare Cost by Availing Nurse Led Services Chronic diseases, especially heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, stress and cancer are the most common hazards to health in the Irish population. In addition to the direct harm they cause to individual health, they also provoke many indirect issues related to health care….