News from Ireland

IRISH ECONOMY AT THE CROSSROADS The severe downturn in the Irish economy which was in part fuelled by a property bubble and which has been compounded by world events is at a critical juncture. The Irish government has acted decisively and increased taxes significantly while reducing spending. It has also recapitalised the banks and plans to set up a 'bad bank' to absorb the dodgy loans that the banks have lent out over the last decade. Their policies have not met with universal approval although Brian Cowen's government will take heart from a recent IMF report that, although critical of government policies that led to the problems, is broadly approving of current remedial actions. Whether these policies work or not will define the economic outlook for this country for the next 5 years and possibly longer. Recent property bubble collapses in Japan and Sweden are often cited by economists here as examples of the devastation that can befall an economy if a property market collapse is not handled correctly. Other commentators suggest that it is ridiculous to compare an economy of the sizeof Japans to that of Ireland. Opposition political parties have been quick to, on the one hand blame the government for all of the problems while on the other hand criticizing everything that the Fianna Fail and Green Party coalition have done to remedy the problem. Both Fine Gale and Labour expect to take over the reins of office in 2012 especially after the thumping that the government parties received at the recent local and European elections. While the opinion polls are in their favour there is more at stake here than which simply political party is in power. Should the world economy recover within the next two years (as seems likely) but Ireland gets left behind, then the prospect of long unemployment queues and emigration could blight the economic landscape for the next decade. If the harsh tax increases and public service cutbacks are matched by the promotion of Irish development in the technology sector however, then Ireland could be well placed to recover in tandem with the broader world economies. It is a high stakes game not just for the fortunes of Fianna Fail and the various political parties who would replace them, but also for a generation of school-leavers and graduates who are looking for jobs, as well as those at the other end of the employment cycle who are about to retire. GOVERNMENT PARTIES GET AN ELECTION WHIPPING The results of the local and European elections are in and it does not make good reading for the ruling Fianna Fail and Green Party coalition. Both of the government parties were severely punished for their handling of the economy with Fine Gael and Labour showing the biggest gains. A very quick look at the share of the local election votes shows that, if the trend were repeated in a general election then a Fine Gael and Labour coalition would easily sweep into power: Fine Gael 32.2%Fianna Fail 25.4% - government partyLabour 14.7%Sinn Fein 7.4%Green Party 2.3% - government partyOthers 18% Therein lies the problem for Fine Gael and Labour. The general election will not be held until 2012 which is plenty of time for the economy to improve and sentiment to swing back somewhat to Fianna Fail. The Greens look doomed with the Irish electorate having a history of punishing smaller coalition parties. Despite the best efforts of Fine Gael to force a general election immediately Fianna Fail know that to allow that to happen would be political suicide. NEW LISBON TREATY TO BE HELD IN THE AUTUMN Recent opinion polls have shown that a re-run of the Lisbon treaty would be passed in Ireland, especially given the current economic malaise. The 3 anti-Lisbon candidates in the recent European elections all either lost their seats or failed to get elected so the government has acted and announced that there will be a second referendum in October. Should the treaty be again rejected by the Irish then both Poland and the Czech Republic will alsorefuse to ratify and the treaty will be doomed, causing an unprecedented crisis within the Union. Defeat would also almost certainly mean the end of Brian Cowen's leadership of the country so it is expected that the government will do all that it can to promote a 'yes' vote. PRESIDENTIAL APOLOGY TO VICTIMS OF ABUSE Irish President Mary McAleese has met with victims of clerical child abuse at Aras an Uachtarain. Over 280 people attended the Presidents residence at her invitation where they received a formal apology for the part that the state played in the decades-long abuse suffered by so many unfortunate children. The President told her visitors:'I know one day in the Phoenix Park cannot hope to restore to your lives all the things that were taken from you. The people of Ireland are desperately sorry for many ways in which you were not cherished, in the abuse itself, in the silence, in the failure to act, in the failure to listen, hear and believe in time.' CONSUMER SENTIMENT PICKS UP A surprising jump to a 14-month high in economic confidence has been recorded by the consumer sentiment index that is compiled by KBC Ireland and the ESRI. The June reading was 53.4 up from 45.5 in May. The improvement in sentiment can perhaps be ascribed to an overall feeling that the worst is over, both in Ireland and in the world economies. Although the banks are still a problem for the Irish economy it is clear that the Irish consumer is feeling more confident than in recent months. Or maybe it is just the good weather we have had recently. Voice your opinion on these news issues here: http://www.ireland-information.com/newsletter.htm A-O-L USERS GO HERE

blasphemy law

Churches not consulted about blasphemy law proposal
In this section »
Thousands of motorists miss NCT deadlineState 'committed' to aid targetSchools forced to raise 30% of fundsCriticism of Department of Finance rejectedIreland passes EU target for employment of womenDormitory towns lose most commutersCAROL COULTER, Legal Affairs EditorTHE MAIN churches were not consulted about the proposal to define the offence of blasphemous libel in the Defamation Act, The Irish Times has learned.

Spokesmen for the Catholic bishops, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin and for the imam of the Islamic mosque in Clonskeagh said that the proposal had not been discussed with them. They said they needed to consider it before commenting further.

Meanwhile, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said he had a constitutional obligation to fill the gap in the law on blasphemous libel left by the Corway case.

In an article published in today’s Irish Times the Minister writes that successive attorneys general have advised the various ministers for justice that article 40.6.1.i of the Constitution imposes an obligation to implement the constitutional offence of blasphemy. The article states that the publication of blasphemous matter is an offence punishable “in accordance with law”.

“Those who argue that where the Constitution has ordained an offence, that a minister should simply ignore it to suit his ideological positions, seem to me to be arguing for a clear constitutional provision to be wilfully ignored. This would be to undermine the Constitution and its protection,” he writes.

He writes that, following the 1999 Corway case, which found that it was impossible to say in what the offence of blasphemy consisted, there was a legal obligation to ensure that this article of the Constitution was operable.

He stresses that the proposed legislation would have to be construed in the context of freedom of expression, and no innocent conduct would be captured, especially as intent to cause outrage would have to be proved.

Asked to comment on the definition contained in the proposed amendment, Martin Long of the Catholic Communications Office said that the bishops had not been consulted about it, and needed to study it. He added that non-legal mechanisms like the codes of practice of the Broadcasting Complaints Authority, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Press Ombudsman had been used by the communications office to raise issues that caused offence.

A spokesman for Archbishop John Neill of Dublin also said that the proposal had come as a surprise, and that the church would have to study it.

Ali Selim, spokesman for the imam of the mosque in the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, said that they would welcome any policy or law to maintain or strengthen respect for religion or faith, but they were not aware of these specific proposals.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Holy See, at a United Nations meeting in Geneva, pledged its support for the international Covenant on Civil, Cultural and Political Rights as the best protection for religious freedom, as an alternative to prohibiting the “defamation of religions”.

At a meeting of the Human Rights Council on All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination last September, Msgr Silvano Marie Tomasi, the Holy See’s permanent observer at the UN, said: “This delegation . . . fully supports the reaffirmation, by the Human Rights Council, of the right to freedom of religion, conscience, belief and religious practice . . . It concurs also with the advice of the special rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, offered to this council, to refocus its reflection away from the vague sociological concept of ‘defamation of religions’ to the juridical norm of non-incitement to national, racial or religious hatred, and to the rights well summed up in the International Covenant on Civil, Cultural and Political Rights.”

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times

Labhair Gaeilge liom

Translation: “Speak Irish with me"

Gentle reader,

You may never go to Ireland or eat a real meal of Irish stew, or even drink a cup of authentic Irish coffee but you can if you squint real hard through your rose colored glasses get a flavor of what it's like not only to be Irish but to understand what heaven is like here on earth.

Here are some sayings & phrases for March 17…

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig (ban-nocht-tee nuh fayla paw-drig) - Blessings of St. Patrick’s Day

Go n-éirí an bóthar leat. (Guh nyree un bow-her laht) - May the road rise to meet you.

Beidh pionta Guinness agam. (Bay pinta Guinness ah-gahm) I’ll have a pint of Guinness.

Ba mhaith liom mairteoil saillte agus cabáiste. (Bah wahl yum mart-chol sawl-chuh ah-guss cah-BASH-tyeh.) I would like corned beef and cabbage.

Is fearr liom píog aoire. (Iss fahr lum pee-ohg ear-uh.) I prefer shepherd’s pie.

Ná bí dána. (Nah bee DAH-nah.) Don’t be bold.

Lúireach Phádraig ~ St. Patrick’s Breastplate

Críost liom
Christ with me,

Críost romham,
Christ before me,

Críost i mo dhiaidh,
Christ behind me,

Críost istigh ionam,
Christ inside me,

Críost fúm, Críost os mo chionn,
Christ under me, Christ above me,

Críost ar mo lámh dheas,
Christ on my right hand,

Críost ar mo lámh chlé,
Christ on my left hand,

Críost mar a luífidh mé,
Christ where I’m lying down,

Críost mar a suífidh mé,
Christ where I’m sitting,

Críost mar a seasfaidh mé,Christ where I’m standing,

Críost i gcroí gach duine a chuimhníonn orm,
Christ in the heart of each person who remembers me,

Críost i mbéal gach duine a labhraíonn orm,
Christ in the mouth of each person who speaks of me,

Críost i ngach súil a fhéachann orm,
Christ in each eye that looks at me,

Críost i ngach cluas a éisteann liom.
Christ in each ear that listens to me.

Here's lookin at you kid!

Love,

Denis

The Real Ireland

AN August night in the sea-scented village of Kinvara finds us at Connolly’s, a pub so permanent that if some codger were to tell you it was here before Galway Bay, lapping now just outside the door, you’d nod and buy him a pint. My wife and I are hunched at a small table with friends when a smiling woman in a peasant skirt sits beside us, carrying a perfectly appropriate accessory in this corner of Ireland — a button accordion.


She is Mary Staunton, a musician known throughout the Irish west. When the inevitable call goes out, she obliges, her fingers skipping across the buttons like children playing frantic but sure-footed hopscotch. Then a white-haired man mentions an old song from his childhood. Does she know it? Why yes, she does, and when her fingers finish their dance, leaving the man smiling, there suddenly rises from across the room the hesitant but clear voice of a young woman who has summoned the nerve to sing. (“And I said let grief be a fallen leaf/At the dawning of the day.”) As she sings, all talking stops: an entire pub, transported. And I think to myself, now this would never happen where I’m from.

Was this the real Ireland? Or was it a rare dash of magic, sprinkled into Connolly’s to validate an antiquated sense of Ireland — a sense rooted in the days when economic inequity between two countries allowed American tourists to spend as though Ireland were one sprawling duty-free shop? Though the country is now experiencing some economic uneasiness, you still cannot help but think: How times have changed.

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time in the western counties of Galway and Clare, and if nothing else, this is what I have gleaned: Ireland can be that place you missed as you traveled around Ireland, looking for Ireland.

Yes, you can find a thatched cottage here and there, if you try. Yes, you may even encounter a white clot of sheep blocking your rented car’s path, raising from musty memory some postcard caption about Irish Rush Hour. But to wander about, looking to bag with a digital camera some approximation of a time-faded Irish postcard, is to miss the complexities of a country that is thoroughly enjoying its wealth and adapting to its European Union membership while at the same time trying to preserve its dreamlike landscape and proud cultural heritage.

You may indeed hear a young Irish woman suddenly break into song in Kinvara. But you may also walk around the corner and be served dinner by a young man with an Eastern European accent instead of a brogue. Travel 10 miles up the road to Gort and you might wade into a celebration of Brazilian culture, staged by a transplanted community that is now an integral part of that old market town.

There you have it: delightful, post-millennial Ireland.

Well versed by now in the lesson that to search for Ireland is to miss it, my family and I once again settled into a self-catered apartment in Kinvara, a village cleaved to Galway Bay near the Clare-Galway border. A generation ago, even a decade ago, you might have called it an unhurried place; now Kinvara captures the transformation of Ireland in so many ways.

The village has a few narrow streets, some shops and pubs, and a stone-walled pier more than 200 years old, from which the distant lights of Galway City can be seen at night and the inhalations and exhalations of the sea can be measured. Across from the pier there looms Dunguaire Castle, which for nearly five centuries has stood on grounds near the ancient fort of Guaire, seventh-century King of Connaught.

The castle’s topmost open windows offer a panoramic view of a Kinvara in flux. Much of the surrounding farmland is being subdivided for new homes, some of them being offered for the equivalent of $1 million and more; they appeal to young professionals looking for an easy commute into Galway, and to affluent Dubliners seeking a second-home getaway. It all leaves one wondering whether the village’s aesthetics are at risk; whether these new developments, and the taxing of the fragile infrastructure they represent, will make Kinvara less — Kinvara-like.

But for now, Kinvara presents curious juxtapositions of the old and the new. Here, for example, an inviting place called the Burren Beo Café occupies an old stone storefront where wireless access is available and where tombstones from a long-gone churchyard adorn the patio. You can sip your caffè latte and imagine the life led by one Bryan Daly, who departed this life at the age of 33, in 1816, and whose headstone lies flat at your feet.

THOUGH Kinvara is perfectly situated for day trips to other points of the Irish west, I often struggle with whether to stay or to go, lulled as I am by the mundane daily rhythms of a village I have come to know in all seasons.

In the mornings, I watch the same white-bearded fisherman — said to be Kinvara’s last — park his old black bicycle by the pier, row a skiff to his rusty-green vessel, and disappear into the bay. Sometime later I see him rowing back to shore, where he mounts his bicycle and vanishes down a narrow lane, leaving me to wonder whether I had actually seen him or simply imagined him.

Irish Government injects money

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's government plans to inject 8 billion euros ($10.3 billion) into the country's top two banks and is in talks to underwrite some of the lenders' potential bad debts, a source close to the talks said on Monday.

The recapitalization plan, which is set to be unveiled later this week, doubles the amount Dublin had originally said it would invest in Allied Irish Banks (AIB) (ALBK.I) and Bank of Ireland (BKIR.I).

"There is a small bit of tinkering yet to be done," said the source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks.

The finance ministry, AIB and Bank of Ireland all declined to comment.

The source said the government wanted to divide the 8 billion euros equally between the two banks but AIB, which has previously signaled a weak appetite for state funding, is reluctant to accept 4 billion euros.

In December, the government said it would invest 2 billion euros in each of AIB and Bank of Ireland via preference shares, giving Dublin 25 percent voting rights over "key issues."

It also said it would underwrite their plans to raise an additional 1 billion euros each.

With the new plan, it was not clear what the breakdown will be between preference shares and ordinary shares.

Investors, rattled by the nationalization last month of No. 3 lender Anglo Irish Bank, welcomed the prospect of an enlarged capital injection but they were anxious to see the cost of the plan to the banks and the potential dilution effect.

"It's better than a rights issue or being nationalized, it's the best option that could be expected," said one Dublin-based trader.

Shares in AIB rose over 6 percent to 1.3 euros but Bank of Ireland remained in the red, down 1.54 percent at 64 euro cents.

PIVOTAL DECISIONS

The credit crisis and the bursting of its property bubble ended Ireland's 'Celtic Tiger' boom last year, blowing a hole in public finances and burdening banks with rising debt losses.

The government is trying to squeeze 2 billion euros in public spending cuts in talks with unions and employer groups this week and Prime Minister Brian Cowen has set a deadline of Tuesday to seal a deal.

Goodbody Stockbrokers said that while quick government help for the banks was welcome, it was even more urgent for the government to strike a convincing deal on cutting the ballooning budget deficit. "The market will firstly need to gain comfort regarding whether the sovereign itself is making inroads in addressing its deteriorating fiscal position," Goodbody analyst Eamonn Hughes said.

Moody's credit rating agency warned Ireland on Friday it was in danger of losing its prized AAA sovereign debt rating, echoing a similar warning from Standard & Poor's last month.

Both agencies cited the potential risk from the Irish government's exposure to the banking sector and its buckling public finances as the recession deepens.

"It would not be an overstatement to suggest that decisions made over the next few days in Ireland will play a pivotal role in the trajectory of the Irish economy for years to come," said Goodbody Chief Economist Dermot O'Leary.

($1=.7783 Euro)

The end of Waterford Crystal

The end of Waterford Crystal is a "national disaster" for Ireland, the mayor of the south-eastern Irish city said today.


Jack Walsh, Waterford's mayor, said the announcement that the company had collapsed had implications across the Republic.


"Waterford Crystal is a huge national brand and its importance goes beyond even the manufacturing plant in Waterford. It is not just the workers at Waterford Crystal that are affected by this. Nationally, it's the whole hospitality industry as well," he said.


Walsh claimed the end of Waterford Crystal in Ireland would have a negative impact on Irish tourism as well as adding to the Republic's rising unemployment. More than 300,000 tourists visit Waterford every year, with the crystal factory being one of the city's biggest attractions for foreign visitors, he said.


"Waterford Crystal is one of only a handful of iconic Irish brands and the gallery and the visitor centre at Kilbarry are among the most popular visitor attractions in the country. Given this, it is of major strategic importance that this company not be allowed to slip in to oblivion."


The mayor called on the Irish state to intervene and help shore up the company and the brand.


Unite, the trade union that represents workers at the Waterford plant, said this morning's announcement was "devastating".


Jimmy Kelly, Unite's regional general secretary for south-east Ireland, also called for Irish government intervention to keep Waterford crystal production in the country.


"Certainly, the brand is obviously one that has been built up since practically the foundation of the state and we see that as something that should be protected for the future to maintain as many jobs as possible in Waterford," he said.


Following a meeting with management at the plant this morning Kelly said Unite officials had been assured the company will be maintained as a going concern for as long as possible.


"The union will work closely with any prospective purchasers of the business so as to ensure we save the maximum number of quality jobs."


"The workers who built the brand that is Waterford Crystal have always worked alongside management to find solutions that would protect the long-term future of the company. Unite will fully support them in liaising with local and national politicians to save the plant and the brand.


"It is too important to the workers and their families, to the city of Waterford and to the nation as a whole, to let it disappear," Kelly added.

Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Advance on $7.7 Billion Bailout


By Ian Guider and Louisa Nesbitt

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of Ireland Plc and Allied Irish Banks Plc surged in Dublin trading after the government said it will inject 2 billion euros ($2.8 billion) into each of them to protect the Irish financial-services industry from collapse.

Bank of Ireland climbed as much as 44 percent, the most in two decades, while Allied Irish Banks Plc rose 21 percent following the announcement late yesterday. Anglo Irish Bank Corp. fell 15 percent after the government said it would take control of the company by pumping in 1.5 billion euros.

Ireland, which was the first country in Europe to guarantee all bank deposits, is being forced to use public money after initially urging the banks to seek private investors to assist in the country’s bank bailout. Since the guarantees on Sept. 30, the ISEF Financial Index has plunged 72 percent as lenders’ capital was eroded by bad loans to homeowners and property developers in Ireland and the U.K.

“There was always going to be a relief rally,” said Alex Potter, an analyst at Collins Stewart in London. Anglo Irish will become “state controlled though remains publicly owned. This means the equity remains highly dangerous in the near-term,” he said.

Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish will give the state preference shares that pay an 8 percent annual dividend and 25 percent of the voting rights on issues such as change of control and capital structure. That is in contrast to Anglo Irish, which is giving the state preference shares that will pay a fixed 10 percent annual dividend 75 percent of voting rights. The preference shares are “perpetual” and won’t convert into ordinary shares.

The dividend payable to the government is lower than the dividend of about 12 percent the U.K. has charged British banks that tapped it for new capital.

Management Change

The decision comes days after Anglo Irish was embroiled in a scandal related to Chairman Sean Fitzpatrick’s non-disclosure of 87 million euros in loans he received from the bank. Both Fitzpatrick and Chief Executive Officer David Drumm resigned last week.

The state is also prepared to underwrite a further issue of as much as 1 billion euros in shares by both Allied Irish and Bank of Ireland. The finance ministry said that while it has a “substantial pool” of additional capital available, it “encourages” the banks to seek private money.

Bank of Ireland is “very seriously considering” raising as much as 1 billion euros in additional capital, CEO Brian Goggin told analysts on a conference call. “We’re not going to take it if the consequences of it are materially detrimental to shareholders. We aren’t taking it at any cost.”

Bank of Ireland rose as much as 29.4 euro cents to 96.9 cents, and traded 29 percent higher at 87 cents as of 9:50 a.m. Allied Irish climbed 21 percent to 1.99 euros, while Anglo Irish fell 3.2 cents, or 9.1 percent, to 31.8 cents.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ian Guider in Dublin at iguider@bloomberg.netLouisa Nesbitt in Dublin at lnesbitt@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 22, 2008 05:24 EST