Month: September 2010
Bankruptcy: Is Ireland going bust?
UCD economist, Morgan Kelly, was pilloried by the establishment back in May when he said it was no longer a case of whether Ireland would go bankrupt but when.
“First prize in Ireland for hypocrisy goes to the government for its response to the downgrading of Ireland’s credit rating.”
Over the course of the last month, the breathtaking hypocrisy of the capitalist elites in Ireland and internationally has been glaringly exposed.
Severe health cuts hit the West
As HSE West faces a deficit of €90 million by the end of the year, there has been a range of proposals to cut costs put forward in recent weeks. A report from UK consultants, Mott MacDonald, suggest up to 1,000 temporary jobs could be cut and even a whole hospital could be closed as part of a plan to save between €44 and €54 million.
Anglo losses mount up… Let the speculators take their losses!
Who do you think was the biggest loss making financial institution in the world last year? Lehman Brothers? AIG? Citibank? No, it was not a major bank in a major world economy - it was a relatively small developers' bank in Ireland - Anglo Irish Bank. What's more, Anglo Irish Bank is likely to be the biggest loss maker again this year!
Door shut on thousands seeking education
“We aim to develop a smart economy and become known as the innovation island”, according to that esteemed authority on all things “smart”, Brian Cowen. In fact, in his speech in 2008 on “Building Ireland’s Smart Economy”, the word appears over and over again. The word education however is noticeably absent in the 2,000 word speech.
US economy slowing – Double dip fears grow
In the past few weeks there’s been a noticeable shift in tone in the business pages and journals. Their confidence in the so-called “recovery” has faded, and has been replaced by anxiety.
End the misery – Amnesty for asylum seekers now!
Protests by asylum seekers around the country highlighted how asylum seekers in Ireland are treated by the system.
Credit downgrade vexes market worshippers
The decision of the rating agency, Standard and Poor’s, to downgrade the credit rating of Ireland from AA to AA- was met with hypocritical gnashing of teeth by Irish establishment figures. The National Treasury Management Agency rushed to criticise S&P, saying that their approach was "flawed". Minster of State, Dara Calleary declared that they used a "very negative analysis".
Can Labour deliver real change?
Only Labour can deliver real change! That's the message on leaflets dropping into homes around the country. One recent opinion poll gave Labour 32% of the vote, indicating that they could become the biggest party in the state.
Construction industry race to the bottom – only militant action can stop employers
Employment in the Irish Construction Industry is expected to fall to under 120,000 workers by the end of 2010, from a high of more than 270,000 in 2007. The result of such rapid jobs losses has been huge downward pressure on pay and conditions, with many construction workers been paid well below the legal minimum wages rates within the sector.
