Category Archives: News

news as it is happening-ish

EUROPE’S NEW fiscal treaty was specifically crafted to minimise the prospect of a referendum in Ireland, The Irish Times has learned.

As Fianna Fáil joined other Opposition groups in demanding a referendum, a high-level European official said elements of the pact were written with the objective of avoiding a public vote in Ireland.

The official acknowledged that the matter was likely to end up in the hands of the Supreme Court but said the EU authorities still hoped there would be no plebiscite in Ireland.

“We drafted the text for the treaty so that he has a chance to avoid a referendum,” the official said in reference to Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
“But this is not a political decision. You know that this is a decision made by the constitutional court.”

Asked whether the authorities in Brussels believed a referendum was likely, the official said it was more a matter of hope. “It’s not in terms of likely or not likely, it is hopefully or not hopefully, so we’d hope they don’t need to go to a referendum.”

On the challenge facing the Government in any referendum, the official said it was “perfectly well” known that the answer the public gave would not be the answer to the question posed. “So it is nothing to do with democracy.”

Fiscal treaty designed to avoid Irish referendum, official says (Irish Times)

(Photograph: Jock Fistick/Bloomberg)

“Once I knew a yappy poodle,
I ate it in a meaty strudel”

FRENCH PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy has dismissed as “undemocratic” Berlin’s call to appoint an EU “budgetary commissioner” to Greece with powers to veto any government spending that knocks its rescue programme off track.

The controversial call has caused consternation in Greece, but Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted last night that Athens had already agreed in principle to such oversight last year.
“Greece’s recovery plan can be implemented only by the Greeks,” said Mr Sarkozy in Brussels last night. “No country can possibly be placed in trusteeship. It would not be reasonable, democratic [or] efficient.” While Mr Sarkozy insisted Chancellor Merkel was in agreement with him, one door down the German leader was sending a very different signal.

After striking a moderate tone on her arrival in Brussels, she stepped up her calls for extra financial oversight of Greece last night, in line with a paper circulated by Berlin last week.

“Countries not sticking to their programmes create a certain frustration in countries that are financing them and raise the question about oversight,” she said.

Sarkozy dismisses watchdog for Greece (Irish Times)

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ONE OF the State’s largest hotel chains planned a campaign involving “a bank” of people aimed at generating false positive reviews on the influential TripAdvisor website.

Internal communication seen by The Irish Times indicates that the Carlton Hotel Group encouraged dozens of employees and other nominees to post positive reviews of the chain’s 10 hotels to TripAdvisor.

According to the email, sent to at least 29 employees in the summer of 2010 and copied to the hotel group’s directors, the group wanted “a more pro-active management of the reviews on Trip Advisor” and it said a plan had been agreed which would see managers nominate five people from each hotel to post fake reviews.

The mail, sent by the group’s sales and marketing head Jean O’Connell, said 150 “TripAdvisor Posters” would be contacted by senior hotel staff and told which hotel they were to review and given a timeframe in which to post. “By pooling TA posters it will give better flexibility and IP addresses will be from across the country,” the memo said.

General managers were also asked to appoint someone “to take a minimum of 30 photographs that reflect the excellent product you have and key USPs you want to get across. Not professional photos but good quality from a digital camera is fine.”

Posters to the site would have “to be capable and agree to post a positive reply approx each quarter as requested”. They were forbidden from using “a Carlton laptop/PC of any kind” and would be expected to post photographs sent from head office. “An improvement each month across all hotels will be expected with particular focus on the hotels that are deemed to be underperforming,” it said.

 

Hotel group staff urged to write positive web reviews (Conor Pope, Irish Times)

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GERMANY HAS confirmed it wants an EU-appointed “budget commissioner” sent to Greece with powers to override its government’s budget policy.
Berlin’s demand would also apply to Ireland and any other bailout recipient that consistently missed the targets set out in its rescue plans, a well-placed European source said yesterday.

The source recognised that Ireland’s bailout was on track but said Berlin was anxious to avoid any repeat of the Greek situation, where the authorities have repeatedly failed to implement promised reforms.

Greece is resisting the pressure from Germany. “Anyone who puts a nation before the dilemma of ‘economic assistance or national dignity’ ignores some key historical lessons,” said finance minister Evangelos Venizelos.

The prospect of an Irish referendum to endorse Europe’s new fiscal treaty hangs in the balance as EU leaders make a final push today for a pact to toughen the enforcement of budget rules.

At issue now for the Government is the principle of adopting an international treaty, which will impose binding obligations on the Dáil and Seanad, without the consent of the people.

Berlin Seeks Enforcement Powers Over Greece On Budget Policy (Irish Times)

RELATED: The Silent Anschluss: Germany Formally Requests That Greece Hand Over Its Fiscal Independence (Zero Hedge)

(Hat tip: Michael Jackson)
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Badum…

THE TAOISEACH has said the problem with Ireland’s economy was that “people went mad borrowing” in a system that spawned greed, went out of control and crashed.

Speaking during a discussion on rebuilding Europe at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Enda Kenny said: “The extent of personal credit, personal wealth created on credit, was done between people and banks – a system that spawned greed to a point where it just went out of control completely with a spectacular crash.”

Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins said there was a “stark contrast” between the Taoiseach’s comments yesterday and those in his address to the nation last month, “when he told the public that ‘it’s not your fault’ for the crisis”.

…and tish!

When asked about Mr Kenny’s comments last night, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said: “I didn’t hear his comment. I’m not going to comment on something I didn’t hear.” After a recording of some of Mr Kenny’s comments was played for him, he said: “I’m not going to comment. Ministers don’t go around the place commenting on the Taoiseach’s remarks.”

Taoiseach Blames Crisis On ‘Mad Borrowing’ And Greed (Irish Times)

Enda: “You Are Not Responsible.” (Broadsheet, December 4, 2011)

Opposition slam Kenny over Davos comments (RTE)

Yesterday: Enda At Davos: The Digital Hub Taoiseach

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During a day of action last week, which saw websites including Wikipedia voluntarily going offline for the day, Sopa will not be passed in its current format in the US.
Mr Sherlock denied the legislation was equivalent to the proposal in the US.

“This is not Sopa legislation, it’s nowhere near it,” he said.

He described the online reaction to his proposals as “disproportionate” and said the Government would never act to limit freedom of expression.

Mr Sherlock wrote to TDs last night stating the implementation of the legislation was necessary following a 2010 High Court ruling in which music publisher EMI sought an injunction against internet provider UPC, ordering it to block access to websites that allowed illegal downloading.

While the court found EMI’s rights were breached, Mr Justice Peter Charleton pointed out he could not grant the injunction as the Copyright Act did not provide for this remedy.

Mr Sherlock told TDs the purpose of the proposed legislation is “simply to provide explicitly that injunctions may be sought”.

Ah. Well that’s alright then, isn’t it?

Internet Piracy Law Will Be balanced, Says Minister (Irish Times)

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Everything stops for T.

THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency is believed to have lined up a receiver to take control of assets at Treasury Holdings today if an agreement is not reached on the repayment of the developer’s loans by this afternoon.

Nama has set a 4pm deadline today for Treasury to repay its near €900 million loans to the state agency.

It is understood that accounting firm Ernst Young has been lined up by Nama to take charge of the assets involved if no arrangement has been reached with Treasury by the deadline.

Ernst Young was last month appointed by Lloyds Bank in the UK and Nama as administrator to Battersea Power Station in London, one of Treasury’s most prized assets.

Battersea will shortly be put up for sale.

Nama lines up receiver to control assets of Treasury (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

CRITICS OF the Government who claim it should not pay a €1.25 billion Anglo Irish Bank debt due tomorrow have never recognised the consequences of a default, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said.

Mr Gilmore, who is Minister for Foreign Affairs, said it was easy to argue against redeeming the senior unsecured bonds of the bank, but said there would be serious consequences in that event.

The Tánaiste was speaking in Brussels as foreign and finance ministers gathered for EU talks yesterday.
Both he and Minister for Finance Michael Noonan separately told reporters the Government would call a referendum on Europe’s fiscal pact if required, but neither said whether they were confident the public would back the treaty if asked.

“Those who make the call for not repaying have never spelled out what those consequences are,” Mr Gilmore said in relation to the Anglo bonds.

Pointing to the gap between public expenditure of €52 billion and revenues of €33 billion, he said the question arose as to who would lend to the Government if it reneged on the bonds.

“If you don’t repay will people lend to you?

Gilmore says Anglo critics do not grasp default ramifications (Irish Times)

Meanwhile, in Dun Laoghaire…

@Luke Martin_DL

(Photocall Ireland)

 

THE DEMORALISED state of the Catholic Church in Ireland “may have something to do with its lack of ecumenism”, the Very Rev Robert MacCarthy (71), Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, has said.

“While I have been happy to welcome the present Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin as a preacher here, I have to say that there has been no reciprocal invitation to the Pro-Cathedral,” he said.

Ecumenism in Dublin seemed “to be equated to fellowship between the two archbishops; that should merely be the first step”, he said in his final sermon as dean at evensong in St Patrick’s yesterday. He steps down from the position on Wednesday.

Last month he announced his retirement as life had been “made more difficult” for him by the attitude of some members of the cathedral chapter and board.

“They have not supported me all along and they can find someone else to carry on,” he said.

Dean Criticises Catholic Church’s ‘Lack Of Ecumenism’ (Irish Times)

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MINISTER FOR Finance Michael Noonan has sought to clarify a remark on emigration being a lifestyle choice after a torrent of criticism from Opposition parties.

Mr Noonan, speaking at the press conference on the troika’s latest review of the bailout programme, described emigration as “a free choice of lifestyle” and said there were young people constantly leaving and returning to Ireland.

He gave the example of three of his grown-up children, all of whom were living outside Ireland by choice. “It’s not being driven by unemployment at home, it’s being driven by a desire to see another part of the world and live there,” he said.

The comments received heavy criticism from Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin. Both parties described them as insensitive and an insult to the thousands of young people who had been forced to leave.

The remarks were compared to those made by former Fianna Fáil tánaiste Mary Coughlan, who was lambasted in 2008 for describing emigration as “not a bad thing” for some young people.

Oh dear.

Noonan criticised for remarks about young emigrants (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)