It does say that ” the other half would be used for a fund that would be leveraged for further stimulus measures”, but I wouldn’t take FG/LAB word on anything

Did you read the story or just by default assume banks would be involved when reading headline?

didn’t labour vote against the selling of state assets at their party conference a few weeks ago,,, tell me if i’m missing something here???

Jobs for who Brendan?
The Boys?

Labour Party Conference was just a buck leppin’ competition, kinda like an annual rut. Then it’s back to business as usual – knuckling down to the whims and fancies of their corporate masters.

Spot on. My view is sell the asset, spend one million in public spending on each town creating direct jobs and money spent where is needed. Not all of it on one hospital. And the rest invested at six per cent buying euro bonds safely backed by the EU. Least we’d get a proper return. Sorry no money back to the Rich Euro Family’s such as the Rothchilds who tell the ECB what to do!!!!

I’m wondering if this is a feeble attempt by our overlords to sprinkle sugar on the dogshit that is the fiscal treaty.
Rabbit on about this being an Irish stimulus package so’s to negate the fact that the treaty we’ll be voting on won’t be the same treaty in 12 months if Hollande gets his way.
If this government had any balls at all they’d announce that the Irish mint is to start printing punts on the first of June, but they don’t.

For for love of god lads, you’re complaining when they is no growth strategy and then complaining when they try fund one. Personally I’d wonder if it’s the governments role to create jobs, rather that create the environment for job creation but it still has to be taken as a positive announcement.

Actually, gary, what people are complaining about is our state assets being sold off to help cover bankers gambling debts. The fact that we’re being allowed to sell off some more and use it to stimulate jobs is missing the point. They are our assets and the proceesd of their sale in their totality should be used for the benefit of our notion.

As you well know the majority of the money we’ve borrowed didn’t go to any bank, it went to fund the day to day running of the country. And we’re still borrowing to run the country.
I can’t help but notice you’re objecting to state assets being sold to fund a stimulus but at the same time repeatedly recommending we empty the National Pension Reserve Fund to fund a stimulus.

Eh, yes gary, I am recommending using the money we have saved for a rainy day rather than sell the family silver. Its not rocket science.

Trueleft. I suppose it depends on what you mean by family silver. I don’t think many people would see the Irish state sector as silver, well cheap plate silver perhaps.

why not use ALL the proceeds to stimulate the IRISH economy instead of stimulating some bankers pockets because they are bust and ripping us off due to corruption ,

The State “assets” are performing poorly in public ownership. However, we all know what’s about to happen. They’ll be flogged off to a multinational. There’ll be no further investment. They’ll be run more efficiently for sure, but all the cash flow will go straight out of the country while services are run into the ground. Just look at what happened with eircom.

We need more competition for these services. But we’re a small country and not the most attractive market.

censored. I’d agree we should not sell these assets unless we can be sure the things you point won’t happen.

Ah but it will allow the status quo to be maintained for another year or so. Eventually some cut backs will have to be made.

Yup which is terrible ! We need manufacturing ! Loosen the regulations on small business and factories then you’d get growth!

Over 4,500 this year so far! :P

still 440,000 ppl still unemployed and 3,000 ppl leaving the country every month kevin,,,, i wouldn’t be bragging about that kevin

More TDs. That is the answer.

So Barry list off all the state assets that have been given away? An exact list.
Now we have no oil so that wasn’t given away, so that’ll make it easier for you.

clowery your game is if you keep throwing shit at the wall it might stick this country is sinking and all this goverment is doing all in its power to save their investments .the irish govermenmt is gone to secretive which spells onething corruption.

Dermot I asked Barry to provide a list for what he claimed, he hasn’t and I’m pretty sure he won’t. And I’m the one throwing shít haha.

Eh, david. Your party has handed BILLIONS over to AIB bondholders this year that they had no moral or legal obligation to pay. That money could have been used for stimulus instead of selling the famiy silver and using half to pay off rich peoples gambling debts for them.

Oh, and theres 5 billion in the nprf that a government working in the interests of the Irish people would be using right now, instead of following the german dictat of austerity and causing so much suffering to your fellow countrymen and women.

I know you’re a member fo young fine gael. Are you a PROUD member of young fine gael?

Trueleft the money paid out to AIB bondholders came from the ECB, i.e. it was borrowed. We didn’t have this money to spend on a stimulus package. And stop with this ‘german diktat’ rubbish, no school of economics says you can borrow one third of all government spending and it’s sustainable. We are having austerity because we need austerity, if Merkel came out tomorrow and told us to spend like it was our last day we’d still need austerity.

Borrowed by whom gary? We still have to pay it back, don’t we? This is very basic stuff. Oh, and we have 5 billion in the nprf that we are not being allowed to use for stimulus, instead the only money we’re allowed (as a soverign nation, feel proud Gary?) for stimulus requires us to sell off the family silver for banking debt.

Trueleft. You said that we had paid billions to bondholders, that could have been used for stimulus. I just pointed out that we got that money from the ECB, we didn’t have it to use for a stimulus, it wasn’t our money.
Many of you guys complain about the overpaid public sector workers and inefficient state services but then object to them being sold which actually might make them efficient. While at the same time you’re happy to empty the National Pension Reserve Fund.

You should take a step back gary and listen to your own argument, that we cannot use the cash for stimulus because the money we are borrowing is paying back bank bondholders who we have no objligation to pay.

Has the penny dropped yet, gary?

I didn’t say that so I have no need to listen to myself. We were loaned money by the ECB as part of our overall deal with them. There was no arrangement or money to pump into a stimulus package. And nor is there likely to be as we’re borrowing one third of all government spending.