Lenihan - We didn't notice the downturn

Colonel Sanders

From today's Sindo

The Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan, in a breathtaking admission of complacency, has said that the Government only became aware of the economic "decline" in July, two years after slowdown indicators first became apparent and when the country was actually in the grip of a full-scale crisis.

Dear god, banking crises, over dependance on construction, shrinking tax revenues etc etc and they didn't notice there was a problem? What the hell is this clown doing with a dail seat never mind a Minsterial Portfolio?

Btw 2 years is seen by some as generous, a lot would point back a 2002 when the export sector began to shrink and bubble mania took over fuelled by cheap credit.

Nodin

One would hope this is just a stupid attempt at a poor excuse, as oppossed to the truth of their stupidity.

peasant

hope springs eternal, or so they say

P. Breathnach

I am far from impressed at the actions of successive governments of recent years. They enabled, even encouraged, the creation of a bubble based mostly on property, and then tried to wish away the problems as the bubble deflated very quickly.

But I don't think Jody Corcoran is sufficiently without sin to qualify as a stone-thrower.

jmayo

Colonel Sanders wrote: »

From today's Sindo

Dear god, banking crises, over dependance on construction, shrinking tax revenues etc etc and they didn't notice there was a problem? What the hell is this clown doing with a dail seat never mind a Minsterial Portfolio?

Btw 2 years is seen by some as generous, a lot would point back a 2002 when the export sector began to shrink and bubble mania took over fuelled by cheap credit.

Gobs**** is about the only word I can use to describe him.
Just when you thought he couldn't come out with anything worse he does.
First off he say on getting the job it was affectively a poisoned chalice, then his patriotic sh*** and now this :rolleyes:

Sponge Bob

This is complete rubbish.

The government,or at the very least the THEN Finance minister Cowen, was fully aware of the implications in March and menus of cutbacks were prepared in March and in April .

Corcoran admits as much further down in that article.

Last May, in a reflection of government thinking, a Cabinet member told the Sunday Independent there was no need for a pre-summer Budget because "the public might think there is a crisis".

But in May the slowdown was already as obvious as it was in March .

The government bottled the cutbacks all summer and are bottling them even now what with a committee of academic economists told to do the job by next June .

bmaxi

Maybe he did know but he just forgot?:rolleyes:

311

His rise ,got in his way

Nodin

bmaxi wrote: »

Maybe he did know but he just forgot?:rolleyes:

Or they knew, but as they were more than likely to be in a good job for the duration......

Its So Easy

Ah will they get off the stage. He makes it sound like he opened the paper one morning in July over his cornflakes, and thought "god we might be in trouble here." I mean do they think we are complete eijits ? And people voted these people ? God give me strength.

dedon

Its So Easy wrote: »

Ah will they get off the stage. He makes it sound like he opened the paper one morning in July over his cornflakes, and thought "god we might be in trouble here." I mean do they think we are complete eijits ? And people voted these people ? God give me strength.

Ya they do because they were voted in AGAIN after their shambles of the health and economy and so on for over 15 years. Therefore they think we are idiots.

The fact is the majority of Irish voted in the Government AGAIN and I dont feel sorry for them. But the rest of us must suffer for the majority's lack of judgment. The typical Irish personna of " Ah be gaysus sure they are doing a great job let vote them again" The voters are the ejits!!

dresden8

Headline should read:

Minister is clueless fuckwit shock!

ednwireland

i think cowan as finance minister knew exactley what would happen if the property boom collapsed thats the only explanation i can come up with for extending a lot of the tax reliefs etc in his last 2 budgets they were just too scared about the consequences. although if they had bitten the bullet 3 years ago and started raining in the excesses of gov. spending and reducing our reliancxe on vat and stamp duty from the building boom they may not be in the sh1t that they are now.

jmayo

ednwireland wrote: »

i think cowan as finance minister knew exactley what would happen if the property boom collapsed thats the only explanation i can come up with for extending a lot of the tax reliefs etc in his last 2 budgets they were just too scared about the consequences. although if they had bitten the bullet 3 years ago and started raining in the excesses of gov. spending and reducing our reliancxe on vat and stamp duty from the building boom they may not be in the sh1t that they are now.

But surely if he did know then why the chr*** build the boom even larger, because anyone with a bit of copon knew that every bubble ends in bust.
The bigger the bubble the bigger the bust.
Of course Ireland was different, and it wasn't just our politicans but every Tom Dick and Harry bought into the myth that we must all be on the property ladder.

Except in Ireland we built thè whole economy on the bubble :rolleyes:

Look at the bright side, in years to come they will devote whole sections of economics courses to the Ireland Scenario:rolleyes:

ednwireland

jmayo wrote: »

But surely if he did know then why the chr*** build the boom even larger, because anyone with a bit of copon knew that every bubble ends in bust.
The bigger the bubble the bigger the bust.
Of course Ireland was different, and it wasn't just our politicans but every Tom Dick and Harry bought into the myth that we must all be on the property ladder.

Except in Ireland we built thè whole economy on the bubble :rolleyes:

Look at the bright side, in years to come they will devote whole sections of economics courses to the Ireland Scenario:rolleyes:

if he did know caught in the headlights seems and appropriate phrase. as micheal o'leary ( and i agree with him on every little) said any fool can do well in a boom. i think we are seeing the quality of some irish politicians at the moment imho. i think cowen has no ability to make quick hard decisions
having just been told i'm on a 3 day week from january i'm not very impressed at the moment
dont see any politicians taking a 40% pay cut (our directors are doing that at the moment

markpb

jmayo wrote: »

But surely if he did know then why the chr*** build the boom even larger, because anyone with a bit of copon knew that every bubble ends in bust.
The bigger the bubble the bigger the bust.

Even if they thought they could control it, I'm sure they were too afraid for their votes to make any harsh decisions. Who wanted to rain on the Celtic Tiger parade?