News from Ireland
ECONOMY CONTINUES TO BOOM DESPITE GLOOMY FORECASTS
The new worth of Irish citizens has been estimated
at EURO 150,000 per head, which puts Ireland near
the top of the international 'wealth league table',
second only to Japan. The economic boom of the last
decade has created over 30,000 m-illionaires, with
net worth increasing by over 350% in the last 10
years. The recent report by Bank of Ireland which
published the new data alludes to the willingness
of Irish people to take risks as one of the reasons
why so many people have done so well.
All is not so rosy in the property market however.
Despite the sustained growth in house prices in
recent years the willingness of banks to offer 100%
m-ortgages, interest-free m-ortgages and 35 and 40
year terms on loans is creating a possible future
crisis in the Irish economy. It is now estimated
that as many as 40% of all new m-ortgage loans are
100% loans, often to investors. 35-year terms are
now considered the norm.
Despite the warnings house prices continue to
forge upwards. Should the property market take a
big hit then the construction boom that has
fuelled the economy would suffer a severe
downturn.
GDP grew by 5.5% in 2005 and this figure is
expected to be matched in 2006. Inflation at 3.9%
continues to be a worrying concern. The release
of over 15 B-illion Euro into the economy in the
first half of 2007 is expected to create jobs on
the one hand, but also to drive price inflation
up, which will result in employee pay demands
which will reduce competitiveness. There is an
overall consensus among economists that, once the
construction boom slows down then there will be
a serious and perhaps sudden reduction in
employment.
FOREIGN WORKERS FLOCK INTO IRISH ECONOMY
The number of workers from outside Ireland, mostly
from eastern Europe, has reached record levels.
Over 65,000 workers from Poland and the other new
EU states were registered in the first half of
2006. Of the near quarter m-illion who have boosted
the workforce in the last 2 and a half years only
2000 are claiming unemployment benefits.
GOVERNMENT MAY PUBLISH EXAM RESULT LEAGUE TABLES
Despite opposition from the Teacher Unions the
Irish Government may copy the UK example and
publish exam 'league tables' that show which
are the best performing schools. The Irish
Department of Education is opposed to the idea
and has thus far successfully managed to block
such publication of exam results.
It is argued that the release of the information
would highlight schools who are under-resourced.
SALE OF AER LINGUS IS APPROVED
The autumn sale of Aer Lingus has been approved
with the Government set to retain a controlling
stake in the national airline. Staff unions are
gearing up for a fight having warned the
government that any public flotation will not
take place without their approval.
UK SET TO BUILD NEW NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS
The UK government has decided to greatly expand
the number o nuclear power stations with plans
for 12 new facilities expected to be announced
shortly. The Irish government is already engaged
in legal action to try to get Sellafield closed.
The proximity of the controversial power station
to the Irish coastline has always been a bone of
contention between the two countries.
The British Ambassador to Ireland has been
informed in no uncertain terms of the number of
concerns that the Irish government has in relation
to nuclear energy on the British mainland. Irish
Taoiseach Bertie Ahearn has previously described
Sellafield as the single biggest threat to Ireland.
Plans for a nuclear power plant in Wexford were
scuppered in the late 1970s. It is unclear how the
Irish public would react today to any new plan to
install a nuclear power plant in Ireland, given the
global concerns over climate change. Those in
favour of nuclear power in Ireland point out that
Ireland already uses some nuclear-generated
electricity by way of the inter-connect to the
British power grid.
PRAYER BOOK FOUND IN BOG
The ancient prayerbook that has been recovered
from an Irish bog is being hailed as one of the
greatest archeological discoveries ever made in
this country.
The Psalter, or Book of Psalms, was found in a
Midlands bog where peat was being milled. It has
been described by the National Museum of Ireland as
the Irish equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The
1200 year old manuscript is written in Latin on
calf-skin 'pages' and will take up to 3 years to
restore.
Voice your opinion on these news issues here:
http://www.ireland-information.com/cgi-bin/newsletterboardindex.cgi
A-O-L USERS GO HERE
The new worth of Irish citizens has been estimated
at EURO 150,000 per head, which puts Ireland near
the top of the international 'wealth league table',
second only to Japan. The economic boom of the last
decade has created over 30,000 m-illionaires, with
net worth increasing by over 350% in the last 10
years. The recent report by Bank of Ireland which
published the new data alludes to the willingness
of Irish people to take risks as one of the reasons
why so many people have done so well.
All is not so rosy in the property market however.
Despite the sustained growth in house prices in
recent years the willingness of banks to offer 100%
m-ortgages, interest-free m-ortgages and 35 and 40
year terms on loans is creating a possible future
crisis in the Irish economy. It is now estimated
that as many as 40% of all new m-ortgage loans are
100% loans, often to investors. 35-year terms are
now considered the norm.
Despite the warnings house prices continue to
forge upwards. Should the property market take a
big hit then the construction boom that has
fuelled the economy would suffer a severe
downturn.
GDP grew by 5.5% in 2005 and this figure is
expected to be matched in 2006. Inflation at 3.9%
continues to be a worrying concern. The release
of over 15 B-illion Euro into the economy in the
first half of 2007 is expected to create jobs on
the one hand, but also to drive price inflation
up, which will result in employee pay demands
which will reduce competitiveness. There is an
overall consensus among economists that, once the
construction boom slows down then there will be
a serious and perhaps sudden reduction in
employment.
FOREIGN WORKERS FLOCK INTO IRISH ECONOMY
The number of workers from outside Ireland, mostly
from eastern Europe, has reached record levels.
Over 65,000 workers from Poland and the other new
EU states were registered in the first half of
2006. Of the near quarter m-illion who have boosted
the workforce in the last 2 and a half years only
2000 are claiming unemployment benefits.
GOVERNMENT MAY PUBLISH EXAM RESULT LEAGUE TABLES
Despite opposition from the Teacher Unions the
Irish Government may copy the UK example and
publish exam 'league tables' that show which
are the best performing schools. The Irish
Department of Education is opposed to the idea
and has thus far successfully managed to block
such publication of exam results.
It is argued that the release of the information
would highlight schools who are under-resourced.
SALE OF AER LINGUS IS APPROVED
The autumn sale of Aer Lingus has been approved
with the Government set to retain a controlling
stake in the national airline. Staff unions are
gearing up for a fight having warned the
government that any public flotation will not
take place without their approval.
UK SET TO BUILD NEW NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS
The UK government has decided to greatly expand
the number o nuclear power stations with plans
for 12 new facilities expected to be announced
shortly. The Irish government is already engaged
in legal action to try to get Sellafield closed.
The proximity of the controversial power station
to the Irish coastline has always been a bone of
contention between the two countries.
The British Ambassador to Ireland has been
informed in no uncertain terms of the number of
concerns that the Irish government has in relation
to nuclear energy on the British mainland. Irish
Taoiseach Bertie Ahearn has previously described
Sellafield as the single biggest threat to Ireland.
Plans for a nuclear power plant in Wexford were
scuppered in the late 1970s. It is unclear how the
Irish public would react today to any new plan to
install a nuclear power plant in Ireland, given the
global concerns over climate change. Those in
favour of nuclear power in Ireland point out that
Ireland already uses some nuclear-generated
electricity by way of the inter-connect to the
British power grid.
PRAYER BOOK FOUND IN BOG
The ancient prayerbook that has been recovered
from an Irish bog is being hailed as one of the
greatest archeological discoveries ever made in
this country.
The Psalter, or Book of Psalms, was found in a
Midlands bog where peat was being milled. It has
been described by the National Museum of Ireland as
the Irish equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The
1200 year old manuscript is written in Latin on
calf-skin 'pages' and will take up to 3 years to
restore.
Voice your opinion on these news issues here:
http://www.ireland-information.com/cgi-bin/newsletterboardindex.cgi
A-O-L USERS GO HERE
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