Good little Enda

IMF deputy director in Europe Ajai Chopra yesterday thanked Enda Kenny and the FG/Labour government for keeping Ireland on course to meet its EU/IMF commitments, even when it meant breaking all of their pre election promises and condemning future Irish generations to poverty.

"Enda is a very good little boy," Mr Chopra said, "At first, when I heard his pre election promises, I thought he might be trouble. However, after meeting with him, I learned quickly that he was a gutless, spineless liar who would be prepared to sell his own family for the chance to lead his country. Lying to his people was no problem for a man like Enda."

Mr Chopra went on to praise others in the coalition;
"Mick Noonan has a right tongue on him for kissing ass. He kissed my ass several times. As for Mr Gilmore, the Irish socialist, its amazing how a champagne dinner can turn a crusader for workers rights into a heartless tool of the IMF!"

Enda Kenny gets Rebranded

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said today that he switched the title of the 'Jobs Budget' to 'Jobs Initiative' because some people were confused about what was being planned.

It seems that the coalition government are going to make a number of rebrandings to clear up other areas of confusion for the general public.

First of all, Fine Gael and Labours pre election promises are from now on to be referred to as the "Little white lies that were told to benefit the Irish people". The Universal Social charge will be rebranded as the "Happy Happy Smiley Face", while the cuts to the minimum wage will be known as "A small little price to pay to feed starving orphans", and of course, no government could ever reverse that!

Health Minister James O Reilly will be rebranded as St James the pious. The bank bail out will now be called the "terrible thing that fianna fail did" and Fianna Fail will be blamed for everything bad that happened during their term in government, and during this government.

Finally, Enda Kenny will be rebranded as E K Dudemister, to put him in touch with the disenfranchised youth of Ireland. He'll broadcast to them via satellite once a week. They should be able to receive it in their squats in Australia.

E K Dudemister

€24 Billion more for Banks while nation stands on brink of collapse

The final bill for bailing out Ireland’s banks will be €70bn after stress tests by the Central Bank in Dublin detailed that four institutions need another €24bn.

 

Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan said AIB will need €13.3bn, Bank of Ireland will need €5.2bn, the EBS will need €1.5bn while Irish Life and Permanent will need a whopping €4bn, more than double what was expected.

This means that despite the fact that half a million citizens are unemployed, thousands are emigrating and the country is standing on the brink of oblivion; our new government is planning on flushing another €24 billion down the grand toilet that is the Irish banking system.

By going down this path, Fine Gael and Labour are condemning this nation to ultimate default. What they are doing is just as bad as the actions of previous governments and the business elite that led us into this mess.

Despite lavish promises of reform and job creation, the legacy of what will surely be one of the shortest lived governments in this states history will be the willing donation of money that this nation doesn't have to bail out toxic banks. To pay off these unpayable debts, the Fine Gael coalition government will plunge generations of Irish men and women to come into poverty and debt.

 

Is this the change that the people of Ireland voted for a month ago?

Sinn Féin call for immediate end to Universal Social Charge

Speaking in the Dail yesterday as his party put a motion forward to abolish the Universal Social Charge, Gerry Adams called on members of other parties to join Sinn Féin TDs "in supporting a motion which, if implemented, can make a real and positive difference in people’s lives."

"The universal social charge is basically a flat tax: everyone with an income above €16,000 pays it at the same rate of 7%," Mr Adams said, "It also brings people who earn as little as €77 a week into the tax net. As such it breaches the fundamental principal of progressive taxation – that those who have more, should pay more."

While admitting that the new government had promised a review of the USC, fellow SF TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that such a review is not necessary, and that the USC should be abolish immediately.

Donegal Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty repeated the appeal for TDs to vote in favour of the SF motion to abolish the USC immediately stating that it is an issue which demands the full support of each elected representative in the Dáil.

"It is little more than a tax on the working poor," Deputy Doherty said, "This tax needs to be abolished and instead the Government should work on building a fairer tax system by creating a progressive tax base that taxes fairly and equalises wealth."

“Fine Gael and Labour have said that they will ‘review’ the Universal Social Charge. They have also proposed at least 32 other reviews in the Programme for Government. A review is not good enough. Fine Gael and Labour should make a stand for the people and abolish this grossly unfair tax.”

Are Fine Gael corrupt?

In the Dail this afternoon, Deputy Joe Higgins said the revelations about the sponsorship of a Fine Gael golf event by Denis O'Brien amounted to a corruption of Government.

"Two months before awarding the most valuable contract in the history of this state by Fine Gael in government; the private individual that was desperately looking for it was lubricating the throats of Fine Gael grandees," Mr Higgins said. "Isn't it obvious to everybody that it was to lubricate the license process, that this was all about."

Around the time that Michael Lowry was fixing the licensing process for Denis O' Brien, Mr O' Briens Esat Digifone prevented public display of its sponsorship of a Fine Gael golf fundraiser by hurriedly requesting the return of promotional material.

Before March 1995, Mr O’Brien had never donated to Fine Gael. However, in the 16 months from March 1995 to June 1996, he made contributions totalling £22,140 to the party. Well over half this was paid before the result of the mobile phone competition was announced in October 1995.

The last donation was for £3,000 for the Fine Gael National Golf Classic in June 1996.

If these allegations prove true, then it becomes clear that the last Fine Gael led coalition government was to quote Fintan O' Toole, "As bent as a Brazilian free kick." Five members of the current government, including taoiseach Enda Kenny, sat at the cabinet table with Michael Lowry during the corruption which led to Mr O Briens winning of the now infamous mobile license.

How many Blueshirts does it take to change a lightbulb?

Ever wondered how many members of the Fine Gael Parliamentary party that it takes to change a lightbulb?

Here's the answer. 10;

1. One to figure out if the light bulb needs to be changed.

2. One to set up a committee to determine the status of the lightbulb following the failure of number 1 to do anything.

3. One to draw up a 250 page manifesto in Enda Kennys name, promising that the changing of the lightbulb is Fine Gaels priority, a matter of national urgency, and that it will be dealt with immediately if you vote Fine Gael.

4. One to book first class airline tickets for Enda and Noonan to visit the EU and to talk to European leaders about the lightbulb situation and the need to change it immediately. A link between Irelands need to maintain our current corporation tax and the changing of the lightbulb will be discussed at length.

5. One to explain why Enda never brought up the subject of the lightbulb during his three day trip to Brussels, choosing instead to shake hands with hundreds of Eurocrats and get his picture taken at famous landmarks.

6. One to blame Fianna Fail for breaking the lightbulb, and insure that in future, under the sensible direction of Fine Gael, lightbulbs will never break again.

7. One to video Enda standing below the broken lightbulb, pointing and telling the people of Ireland that, "I want to talk to about a new Ireland where lighbulbs never go out..."

8. One to pay the IMF €50 billion of taxpayers money for a replacement lightbulb.

9. One to stop Dr James O' Reilly stealing the replacement lightbulb and hoarding it with his medical card stash. 

10. One to pay an American company to change the lightbulb because no one in Ireland has the expertise to work for Fine Gael.

Fine Gael corruption! Shock horror!

The Moriarty tribunal has found that former minister for communications Michael Lowry secured the 1995 mobile phone licence competition for Denis O’Brien’s Esat Digifone. Mr Justice Michael Moriarty also found that Lowry  interfered in a rent arbitration process in an attempt to secure a benefit for the businessman Ben Dunne. Both Mr O Brien and Mr Dunne gave the former Fine Gael Minister "political donations" at the time.

Lets put this into context.

While holding the Ministry portfolio of Transport, Energy and Communications, Michael Lowry appears to carried some pretty big political favours for some pretty powerful and wealthy friends. The Moriarty tribunal certainly paints a picture that would indicate that the former Fine Gael Minister was bribed. Michael Lowry was sitting at the cabinet table of the last Fine Gael/Labour party coalition government. Sitting very close to him were Richard Bruton, Brendan Howlin, Ruairi Quinn, Michael Noonan and our new Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

Enda Kenny.

The man who promised us a new type of politics during the last election campaign.

A man who led Fine Gael to an impressive victory on the promise of political reform and an end to all political corruption.

Today Mr Kenny's minions sneered at representatives of Sinn Féin, Fianna Fail and the United Left Alliance when they asked the simple questions; questions that had been poised only weeks ago by the Fine Gael party at our last government.

Was Deputy Lowry acting alone?

Did his cabinet colleagues have no idea of what was taking place?

And if they didn't, arnt they still guilty of the crime of total incompetence and being completely unfit to serve in a government cabinet?

Six members of our new government sat at that cabinet table with Michael Lowry.

I don't see any reason for Fine Gael to sneer now.

               

Programme for government

Reading the new programme for government offered up by the Fine Gael/Labour coalition, this blog was fascinated to read a quote from Albert Einstein in the opening chapter.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

Interesting, but does this new programme for government, taken from two parties with two very different publicly stated doctrines, offer us "hope for tomorrow"?

Following on from calls by leading economists to burn the bondholders and pull out of the IMF deal, this government has started its economic proposals by suggesting renegotiation with the IMF. This renegotiation will be based upon reducing the interest rate of our loan by offering to reduce government deficits more efficiently. Despite this the deadline to reach 3% will be increased to 2015 (if the Eu approves). The programme promises to review the USC, but makes no promises on the outcome of this process. The recent cuts to the minimum wage are to be reversed.

The standard rate of VAT will be increased to 23%, while the lower rate will be reduced to 12%. Employers PRSI is to be halved, and a promise has been issued that income tax will not be risen.

And how do Fine Gael and the Labour party intend to pull this off. With some tough medicine.

Public spending will be cut by a further €3 billion in 2012. An obvious labour flavoured proposal not to cut social welfare seems to be at odds with this. 21,000 public sector workers will be laid off. The effects that this will have on our already burdened health and education systems is unimaginable.

The programme for government also contains several historic proposals that this blog would like to see passed, but worries wont be. These include the abolishment of the Seanad, and the legalisation of gay marriage. The term of the President is set to be reduced to five years, while the voting age is to be reduced to 17.

It remains to be seen if these two parties can honour their pre election promises to tackle mass unemployment and emigration by introducing sweeping job stimulus plans. If they don't, then we could be getting a new programme for government from a new government sooner than anyone thinks.