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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has described the latest leak of confidential documents relating to Ireland’s bailout programme as “unfortunate and irresponsible”.
A spokesman for European economics commissioner Olli Rehn said this afternoon that it was “regrettable” that details of the latest documents – this time a European Commission working paper – had been made public before their formal publication in Ireland.
The Irish Times had this morning published details of the latest paper, outlining its concerns that the burden of austerity measures need to be distributed equally between the various levels of society.
But what are the procedures for distributing papers like this – and how come they keep getting out?
Contrary to what some people might (forgivably) believe, it’s not the case that Germany has some special position, simply because of the extent to which it is funding the bailouts of other countries.
Rather, Germany is an example of a country where democratic procedures require documents to be distributed by politicians in order to enforce greater oversight of how that country spends its money.
Today’s leaked document – as with each of the others – has been compiled by the teams who visit Ireland each quarter to inspect our progress under the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund programme.
These quarterly reviews – the last of which was held in April – are used by the Eurozone’s finance ministers to decide whether Ireland should receive the next round of its bailout loans.
In essence, the ministers use the Troika’s reviews and briefing notes as a way of examining whether Ireland’s on what they consider to be the road to recovery – and whether, therefore, it is deserving of the next round of cash.
In order to allow this, draft versions of reviews and working papers are sent around to ministers in advance of the European Council meetings where they decide to approve such loans.
Though this would naturally appear to affect Ireland, it would also be the case for Greece and Portugal (and, soon, Spain) – with Michael Noonan receiving the draft versions of paperwork relating to the first Greek bailout, to which Ireland was a contributor.
Where Germany comes in is the fact that the German Bundestag has a particularly prominent role in overseeing how Germany spends its money. There, the Finance Committee has the power to tell minister Wolfgang Schauble whether to release Germany’s cash or not.
In order to facilitate this decision, the Finance Ministry is therefore required to share any documents with MPs – from whom such reports end up in the media.
Rehn’s spokesman said the Commission’s working paper, as detailed this morning, would be formally released on June 25.
In the Dáil today, Enda Kenny said following the most prominent leak – the leaking of documents outlining some of the government’s Budget plans, including a VAT increase, last November – new rules had been adopted where confidential documents were distributed to TDs as well.
“The government made it clear before, that the reports would be given simultaneously to the Oireachtas joint committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform,” Kenny said, pointing out that the documents were shared on a confidential basis before their formal release.
“It’s not a case of taking individual documents and giving them to international committees,” the Taoiseach said.
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What a devastating disaster. To destroy such an old established business like this. Hope ye can stay going and regroup. Nothing sacred anymore.
Ann
Maybe someone else nearby with a Catering Kitchen could allow her to use their kitchen on a quiet, or a shut shop, day? Esp’ if it has its own “Free Power”/Off-Grid Renewable supply (to keep overheads down – for both parties). A lot of places don’t open on Mondays, Tuesdays, & Wednesdays anymore. If she could still meet even half her clients’ orders that fit with the days she has kitchen access (for retention of freshness), it would give her a fighting chance to keep the business *in business* and ticking over while the Tradies are in the bakery unit restoring and renovating the place…. after the insurance finally inspects & processes whatever payment they intend.
Also – There should not be any water *still* pouring out into her shop unit. Would the Firefighters not have given her a hand there to find the external stopcock and turn off the mains supply to the store entirely.
Unless it’s coming from a loft or rooftop storage tank? But even then, it should quit eventually when it runs out of water . . . .unless, again, the mains outside is not turned off and is still supplying the tank.
We’ll keep the fingers crossed for them anyway.
Best of luck bouncing back
Hope they’ve got adequate insurance that will cover rebuilding and possibly loss of earnings. Even so, next year’s premium might be off the wall. Hate to see a decent family-run business like that destroyed. Not too many left anymore.
Is it possible that the fire could be caused by the ole reliable climate change claim ? Asking for an insurance friend of mine
1862 was a long time ago. Thought it was mostly spuds on the menu then
@The Hard Road: Is that what you thought? Read much?
@Jack Hayes: Comments section is full of w anchors.
@Jack Hayes: I stand corrected. I had thought there were lots of people subsisting on potatoes rather than cream cakes during that period of Irish history. Now I know better
@The Hard Road: Like the man in the orthopaedic shoes.
@The Hard Road: Everything was on the menu then, if you had the wherewithal to pay for it!
@The Hard Road: You are on the right track …-ish. Spuds were never the problem. Wholesale confiscation of all livestock, tillage crops, and grains, by Britain, as “Taxes” surplus to coin taxes and rents, were the problem. All the “tenant” farmer was left with to sustain themselves were usually a few spuds and other scarce bits. Potato crop failed the years of the Famine Genocide, AND Britain still continued to levy and escalate confiscation of all harvests and livestock.
But you would definitely be correct. Very few indigenous Irish would have had the option or opportunity to eat home made cakes, let alone *purchased* bakery goods from the City. Back then, the shop probably predominantly supplied indigenous Protestants who had favourable access to higher salaried professional occupations and lay jobs; and the non-indigenous, like Brits, who held all the Wealth (from Resource stripping).
That is not to say there wouldn’t have been a fair few indigenous Catholics who had reasonably well paid jobs and/or happened to have multiple teenage children capable of and succeeding in getting a lower paid City job who’s wages would then all go into the pot for the mother to run the house (and, buy a rare cake on a rare special occasion).
So it wasn’t wholly impossible for indigenous Irish Catholics to purchase a cake.
It was just far more probable the Protestant Privileged, and the foreign Resource Strippers, were the more common customer (possibly alongside tea shops and other commercial enterprises that didn’t have an in-house baker)
@Pink Freud: comprehensive and factual answer.
@Pink Freud: Sort of what we have now but with multinationals
That picture brought me back .Terrible news and places like this are very few nowadays. Some are intent on destruction and for what purpose? I hope they recover. I have a yearning for a jam doughnut now.
Ireland wants a franchise here. Greggs maybe
@Thesaltyurchin: But do we really, you have clearly have not tasted anything from Greggs.
@Michael Ward: Sarcasm. Apologies, it’s a hard one when read in context. But we do prefer our shop owners to run a Centra, our coffee to be Starbucks. Imagine it’s less work for officials to do, bigger employers, lower wages. If a costa goes bust it probably doesn’t even register a blip on their overall books. Ireland has never liked the SME (imo).
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