Are the Irish fit to be let at the controls?

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121806021#Comment_121806021

Considering all the things Churchill got wrong, I would not loose much sleep on what Churchill said or did not say. Although I will admit that he and Beaverbrook did us some service by insisting that the Irish Free State have a written constitution enacted by the people, had they done the same for their own country the might not be in the mess they are in now.

The reality is that that after Germany, Ireland is considered one of the best European economies when it comes to paying down debt and they have a track record of doing this. So much so that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) holds a very large block of Irish Government debt as part of the national reserve and those guys are not in the habit of loosing our money. So may be don't hold your breath waiting for the IMF to arrive.

Larbre34

You can never, ever, argue with stupid.

smallbeef

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828889#Comment_121828889

Yes I'm getting a really good rate on my mortgage. But I'm on interest-only mortgage repayments. In addition to our salary rises you mention, I've been getting very large company-performance related bonuses for the past 3 years as our MNC is absolutely flying it. I've used this extra say 50k a year to give money to less fortunate people in my area, and I've made legal commitments to them that I will continue this going forward. I also gave my cleaner, nanny, gardener, mechanic, etc. a 10% pay rise this year. So all and all my spending is up 50% in the last few years. But its ok cos I had €1000 left over last year (which I withdrew and threw up in the air at a rugby match). And people love me.

Now how important is that 50k I've been getting to this whole equation? Is the 350k capital I owe likely to rear its head again if I can't make the mortgage repayments? Will the bank still give me the low interest rate on my 350k if they find out I've now got all these other commitments?

Government spending is completely out of control and is 100% dependent on similar or greater levels of corporate tax coming indefinitely. No one can tell me how likely this is to happen, but it appears very unlikely. These were described as 'windfalls' from huge post-COVID profits.

When we are no longer balancing our books, that 250bn we owe will be very hard to get a low interest rate on. Our bond rate was low too (similar to Germany's) before the crash and went to over 12% almost over night when markets saw what a basket-case we were. Its very naive to think that 250bn won't come into play again.

I will agree though that these are the good times!

Wanderer78

jesus lads would you ever stop with the balancing the books nonsense, governments are not like households, households cannot create money but governments can via bond markets, so they are not comparable, this is why deficits can actually be good for an economy, particularly developed economies such as ours, it also means we become less reliant on credit for our money supply, whos main purpose now is to simply inflate the value of assets such as, and in particular, property......

Podge_irl

Paying off low interest bonds (in many cases below inflation) instead of investing the money in economic growth would be catastrophically poor management.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121806401#Comment_121806401

At least Churchill lived in Ireland for several years so he could somewhat have an opinion here.

Yeah between age 2 and 7 in the vice-regal lodge, a.k.a. Aras an Uachtarain. That must have given him tremendous insight into the lives of ordinary Irish people.

The idea that Churchill would take on hundreds of thousands of unionists (with military force, because that's what would have been required) just to scratch Dev's back was ludicrous. He had neither the inclination nor the ability to force unification.

We are paying down debt.

But apart from that, your post was great 🙄

Larbre34

Um, we factually ARE balancing the books.

With a TEN BILLION EURO ANNUAL SURPLUS.

Holding debt is a normal practice for any organisation, any Country. Its about relationships, credit record, and management.

I wish people who obviously know little of what they speak, would stop just making **** up from the maelstrom in their own heads and committing to paper as fact.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828978#Comment_121828978

Agriculture here generates at least ten times the greenhouse gas emissions as aviation here, while employing a lot fewer people in lower-paid (actually state and consumer-subsidised) jobs.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830577#Comment_121830577

But but they saw it on twatter/facebuke so it must be true.

SuperBowserWorld

Agriculture is kinda essential though.

I think emissions could be cut if people ate less meat. And I don't mean no meat, less meat.

Or, if they really like meat, they should help with the calving at the moment as nobody seems to want to do that, as it's so badly paid and a hard job.

And accompany the male calves on their terrible journeys to far away places to be slaughtered brutally.

Instead of at least slaughtering them here, for some kind of humanity, and also to save on transport emissions.

InAtFullBack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058337551/are-the-irish-fit-to-be-let-at-the-controls

Revenue is the best functioning part of the state. If the rest of the state was run like Revenue is, then we'd have the best country in the world by a long shot.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829057#Comment_121829057

Hmm… The problem is that when stupid asks a question on social media he hooks up with more stupids and between them they convince each other that they have an insight the world needs to hear about.

smallbeef

Ok lads. This is like being in a boardroom of Anglo Irish Bank in 2006!

We're golden it seems. Good to hear.

As you were...

Lofidelity

There are plenty of competent people in the country, but politics and public service does not appeal to them. There are no pragmatists in the Dail anymore, just dreamers, idealists and narcissists.

JPCN1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830577#Comment_121830577

The issue I have is this surplus is being wasted. Obviously and wisely some being saved but they can’t fix health, water, education, policing with the remainder and we need people who can.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121831718#Comment_121831718

...yea we re stuck in a mindset of the past, ireland is no longer a poor country, but if we dont act quickly, we could return to it very quickly, we re desperately in need of major public investments, in order to match meet our current critical, and of course, future, needs.....

bullpost

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830779#Comment_121830779

In fairness there was a lot of Anglos all over the world in 2006. Nothing unique to Ireland.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830779#Comment_121830779

Well, yes, Ireland is doing quite well right now.

But you can preach the doom and gloom if it makes you feel better.

Patrick2010

Good for now but what have we to show for the budget surpluses in respect of infrastructure? 5.5 billion has gone on housing Ukrainians alone with nothing permanent built.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121833625#Comment_121833625

Were they as dependent on property as much as Anglo, also Ireland was much bubblier than most places.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121833865#Comment_121833865

This is true, the infrastructure could really do with improvment.

David McWilliams talked about it a lot on his podcast recently.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121833959#Comment_121833959

...its a no brainer really, but the reality is, we may never do whats truly needed to be done, its very difficult to try break such thinking within our states institutions.....

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121834010#Comment_121834010

This is a massive drawback in Ireland. The processes to instigate change are archaic, be it with transport (look at the metro and a resident protesting that...) or building more houses.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121834045#Comment_121834045

...yea its very disturbing, and mcwilliams is right, we re no longer a poor country, so we ve got a hell of a lot of work to do, if we want to maintain what we have created over the last few decades, or it could all fall away, and very very quickly.....

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121834060#Comment_121834060

Agreed. Ireland is by no means perfect and it has a really long way to go, at the same time it is not the banana republic that some are trying to paint, as hard as they try.