Celtic Tiger

Time to face up to reality

November 23, 2008

As the banks move to sort out their bad debts, it’s imperative that the state also tries to alleviate negative equity problem facing young workers.


Act now, minister, or we will all live to regret it

November 19, 2008

We are now reaching the endgame. Few are in denial any more. The situation is dire and we need real leadership to get us out of this mess. Businesses across the country are going to the wall, unemployment is going through the roof and people who have been trading for years say this is much worse than the 1980s.


Banks can’t hide from this crisis

November 16, 2008

Every evening, there is a little ritual in our house. Our young children, having been settled by their mother, demand dad tells them a story ‘‘from your head’’ before bed. This lark involves all classes of adventures, heroes and implausible tales starring themselves as central characters.


We need our own Obama to be an agent for change

November 6, 2008

Yesterday I spoke to a friend — let’s call him Mike — a hard working, non-greedy, frugal individual. This is not the sort of bloke who went out and splurged in the boom. He has a house, a car and, up until recently, a steady job. He lives for his children, his family and yet…


This (social) partnership just isn’t worth saving

August 6, 2008

THE end of partnership might not be such a bad thing after all. At the moment, it is difficult to turn on the TV or radio without hearing someone lamenting the demise of the national pay talks and warning of dire consequences.


Crisis is an opportunity too valuable to squander

July 23, 2008

This is the opportunity to push through reforms and market the entire programme as a necessary exercise in ‘tough love’


Central Bank must finally show leadership in the face of crisis

July 13, 2008

The crisis in Ireland is monetary, and the bank has to assess what needs to be done and tell the truth.

This weekend, Rupert Murdoch was door-stepped by a bunch of journalists. Speaking off the cuff into a sea of microphone heads, the veteran media mogul summed up, with clarity and directness, what he saw as the problem facing the world economy.


Time for the banks to cut ties with their builder mates

June 30, 2008

The longer the banks go on protecting their developer clients, the bigger their problems are eventually going to be.

The Irish banking system is facing meltdown. The choice for the banks is now simple: they allow one of the big developers to go under or they risk going under themselves.


Don’t panic! Smart tactics will get us back on our feet

June 25, 2008

Don’t panic! The worst thing we can do when faced with an economic slump is to lose the head. Yes, the economy is moving into recession — but this has been known for a while. Anyone who cared to listen to a taxi-driver, let alone look at the hard numbers, has been concerned for a few months now. We are where we are, and now it’s time to formulate a plan to get the economy moving again, so that a serious situation does not become a crisis.


Bumpy ride on a bad debt cycle

June 22, 2008

The Central Bank must move, as the Fed did in the US, to prop up Irish banks before a major catastrophe.

Ireland is now going into the early stages of a classic bad debt cycle. While many are still talking about the credit crunch, the crunch is only a mild forerunner of the greater challenge.