Economy

The question of banks writing off mortgage debt of householders unable to pay has hit the headlines in the past weeks. Bank of Ireland, AIB and Bank of Scotland have stated they are considering some form of debt write-off.  Ireland’s debt crisis is a major burden on the banks and the Irish economy. As part of their recent bank stress test the Central Bank estimated €9.5 billion in bad mortgage debts in the Irish banks between now and 2013. The high level of personal debt is adding to the economy’s deflationary spiral.

At the end of March the Fine Gael/Labour Government announced a €24 billion bailout for Ireland's four remaining banks. In so doing, the government indicated that their banking policy is a mere carbon copy of that previously pursued by Fianna Fail and the Green Party. Here, socialistparty.net, looks at the very real prospect for default which haunts the establishment.

The IMF have released their bi-annual World Economic Outlook report which analyses the world economy, individual countries and predicts growth prospects for the future.

“On 25 February, a democratic revolution took place in Ireland. Old beliefs, traditions and expectations were blown away.”

An essential ideological pillar of the attacks on workers and unemployed people over the past number of years is the idea that Ireland is broke.  The impression is given that the wealth created during the Celtic Tiger (where the top 1% of the population gained €75 billion) has simply disappeared.

The budget cuts are hitting families all over the country this month. For the poorest and most vulnerable, social welfare and child benefit cuts have made the struggle for survival all the harder. The basic social welfare cut of €416 a year is massive, a loss of more than two week’s income for people who struggle to make ends meet is draconian.

In a desperate move to boost US growth, the Federal Reserve has launched QE2, a second round of quantitative easing. Its main effect will be to devalue the dollar, an attempt to boost its exports at the expense of its rivals, particularly China. This unilateral action by US imperialism can only intensify the currency wars and trade conflicts. socialistparty.net reports.

The cynical posturing of the Green Party in calling for a January General Election for ´the good of the country´ will not save it from annihilation when the Irish people go to vote.

The Government and opposition parties have signed up to reducing the budget deficit to 3% by 2014. The government has now settled on the figure of €15 billion in cuts over the course of four years in order to achieve this stated goal.