The winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics says Ireland is bunched.
The title of Paul Krugman's column in the New York Times today is “Erin Go Broke”. Krugman is the current Noel Laureate for economics and, arguably, the most influential columnist in the US. He is writing about how bad the US economic prospects could get and he responds to his own question with: “America could turn Irish”.
Towns in Cork, Waterford and south Tipperary see the migration of manufacturing jobs to Asia and struggle to cope with a changing world economy
The organisation representing most Irish bookmakers has advocated to government the introduction of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), or slot machines to betting shops. The Irish Bookmakers Association (IBA), which represents 750 of Ireland's 1,100 betting shops, made the recommendation in its 2007 budget submission to the Department of Finance (obtained under the Freedom of Information Act).
The much-heralded Public Private Partnerships (PPP) initiative has taken quite a knock with the reported collapse of five of Dublin City Council's PPP Social Housing Regeneration Projects in Dublin's inner city.
Even at a stage when the nation is depleted by Tribunal fatigue, there is a strong case for instituting a Tribunal of Enquiry into what happened in this DCC/Fyffes case and how the regulatory authorities failed to take any action or at least not sufficient action to respond to evidence of a fraud the likes of which the State has never seen before, perhaps with the exception of the Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes scam.
On Wednesday, 21 May last, the DCC board issued a statement explaining their support for Jim Flavin, in spite of the Supreme Court finding of 10 months previously.
The present directors of DCC, who had backed Jim Flavin to the hilt and claimed essentially that he and DCC and, by inference, themselves, did nothing wrong, are leading lights of the Irish business world.
Jim Flavin's resignation as executive chairman of DCC does not dispose of the scandal, which a Supreme Court judge called a fraud and a crime and which amounted to at least €80m. Questions remain for many to answer, including the big names on the board of DCC, stockbrokers, lawyers, accountants and the Stock Exchange. Also the Gardai and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment
The Ring Gaelteacht in Co Waterford, once an island of an Irish-speaking community now is engulfed by English-speaking commuters. By Siobhan Tanner
Young buyers are stretcing themselves financially to buy property, enriching developers pockets at the same time. By Joe Higgins