New Statesman article on Ireland and FF

An article in the latest New Statesman outlines the economic and fiscal policies of Fianna Fáil that has us where we are today.

Failed by Fianna – New Statesman

[…] The cuts announced in December aim to reduce state spending by €4bn this year, but the overall plan is to slash it by €15bn within four years. As total expenditure by the Dublin exchequer was just under €60bn last year, this means that the Irish state is set to shrink by a full quarter in less than half a decade.

At least two generations look destined to pay a painful price for the follies of the golden circles whose scams, swindles and con jobs have lumbered Ireland with zombie banks that make RBS and HBOS look relatively vibrant. Anglo Irish alone may swallow over €30bn of public cash, equivalent to the total revenues collected by the Irish exchequer in the whole of last year.

more below…

[…] Dublin’s fragile coalition government seems far more spooked by the danger of international investors downgrading their country’s credit rating (which would make the cost of borrowing substantially higher) and the spectre of the IMF seizing the financial reins. Dublin is determined to distinguish Ireland from Greece, whose continued profligacy threatens to destabilise the entire eurozone.

[Additional Reading: Greece calls in IMF to help sort out massive debt]

The NS piece is a decent potrait of recent events, albeit one written for an audience not heavily informed on current affairs in Ireland. (Though I’ve never heard an Irish politician being referred to as “Iron Brian”).

The description of Boom-time Ireland as “a land of spivs and speculators and a manufacturing outpost for American multinationals” is concise and accurate. As is the comment “Ireland’s economic miracle was always somewhat hallucinatory, because these US firms… used it as an Atlantic tax haven and route to the EU marketplace”.

One also has to agree “most welfare recipients probably won’t be any worse off [following the Decemeber budget], as the slight fall in their benefits will be offset by the steep fall in prices that Ireland is now experiencing”. Though I would note ‘most’ is a numeric term in this context. AK comments on this topic below…

Unfortunately, the New Statesman writer has missed (or ignored) the recent u-turn on elements of the ‘progressive’ pay cuts proposed for the public sector, which would add some context to that paragraph. Overall though, worth the read, and a damning verdict on the Irish Government of the last decade from an influential overseas magazine.

Guido‘s comment on the piece is, as some would expect, a slanted simplification of the situation (can’t Ireland and the UK both be in economic meltdown concurrently?) which misses the point entirely to get a cheap dig in at the British Government. Suppose, can hardly blame him, they haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory over there either.

Enterprise diary 2007

As part of an ongoing process. The diary of then Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin from January to December 2007.



Taoiseach’s diary 1999

As part of an ongoing process. The diary of then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, from April 1, 1999 to December 31, 1999. Redactions marked ‘A’ are so because the department believes them to be “personal information” as defined in Section 28 of the FOI act. Entries marked ‘B’ relate to the Taoiseach’s private papers as a member of the Oireachtas. Regards ‘B’ redactions – the cover letter from the FOI officer states “Section 46 of the Act states, inter alia, that the Act does not apply to records relating to any of the private papers of a member of the Oireachtas and as such I consider that the Act does not apply to these entries.”



Digest – Jan 10 2010

Hear, hear for The Sunday Times editorial (though I disagree with the statement on there being too many TDs).

The government, but also the political establishment generally, must bear most of the responsibility for this lack of civic mindedness. It is a direct descendant of cynicism and weariness with a selfish and at least semicorrupt political system.

If Irish people thought that the country was being run fairly, and that decisions were being genuinely taken in the national interest rather than purely in the self-interest of ministers and political parties, they might sign up as equal partners in the great programme of national self-sacrifice that still lies ahead.

Also from The Sunday Times, ex-politicians paid €40,000 to watch DVDs.

We’re turning a corner!

I was buoyed to see The Sunday Tribune Business section lede ‘Gardaí poised to arrest Anglo Irish Staff‘ having heard about the Criminal Assets Bureau raiding the home of a top-ranking Limerick bank boss earlier in the week. Unfortunately other stories on the same page include:

[SPIN WARNING]: ‘Referendum needed for banking crisis probe (says head of the Oireachtas regulatory committee, a Fianna Fáil TD)’,

‘Anglo-Nationwide investment [made with taxpayers’ money] will be lost‘

and ‘Trio of insiders in race for AIB job‘.

Elsewhere, TDs expenses hit a record high last year, according to The Sunday Independent, don’t worry, the Independent Electoral Commission will solve all this, all of it. Ehem.

Gerard O’Neill (economist) of Amárach Research offers to buy Eamonn Ryan a subscription to Sky TV.

– WORLD

The of data analysis and mapping is still in its infancy. However, this one of The Underpants Bombers’ online activities is interesting reading (and viewing, see below, though you’ll need to read the post, or this one,  for some semblance of context). Every journalist should have a gander and good think about the possibilities. An English and History degree might have been useful when looking to land a job in the media over the last ten years, but over the next twenty will a Computer Science one be more valuable? Methinks it may.

Continue reading “Digest – Jan 10 2010”

Letter in Irish Times on Ahern's tax exemption

8 Jan 2010

Madam, – When I wrote a biography of Brendan Bracken I was denied the artists’ tax exemption by the Revenue because a biography, being a recital of facts, did not rank as an original and creative work. Are we to infer from their determination in relation to Mr Ahern’s memoirs that they are fiction? – Yours, etc,

CHARLES LYSAGHT,

Strand Road,

Merrion,

Dublin 4.

I was under the impression that the Arts Council judged whether work warranted the exemption or not – possibly incorrect.

Bertie Ahern and the artists' tax exemption

Bertie AhernBono, Enya, Elvis Costello, Maeve Binchey, Louis Walsh and now Bertie Ahern . Who’da thunk.

Section 195 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is the legislation under which Bertie Ahern claimed his tax exemption as an artist of ‘cultural or artistic merit’. The exemption was introduced by Ahern’s mentor, Charles J. Haughey, in 1969 as a way to encourage individuals with artistic talent to work in, or continue working in, the Arts. Until 2006 when a €250,000 cap was placed on the level of tax-free earnings, all income through artistic endeavor was completely tax free (this cap has since been lowered to €125,000). Last year the Commission on Taxation recommended a completely abolished, though arts minister Martin Cullen has rejected that out-right.

Judging by details available on claimants since 2001, somewhere near three quarters of claimants each year – approx 800 to 1000 individuals – sought exemptions on less than one and a half times the average industrial wage (excuse the ill-defined figures, inflation and other economic flucuations mitigate against exactitude). Approximately half that number were claiming on less than one third of the same figure. Quite rightly too, it was brought in help struggling artists and encourage people not working full-time in the area to produce work of note, despite what some wealthy artists will try to tell you. Continue reading “Bertie Ahern and the artists' tax exemption”

Those Oireachtas expenses

I started the process of gaining a full picture of how much the houses of the Oireachtas cost the taxpayer some five months ago. I’m still working on it.

It is no easy task. For anyone who is interested in the practicalities of the FOI process, read on.

Three FOI requests have been submitted. One appeal for internal review has been submitted, and granted successfully. Thus far the process has cost €120 (despite an original quote of nearly €2,500). Despite seeking all the records in a digital spreadsheet format, I have almost always been given bulky physical hard copies, or scans thereof. And even when I do get digital formats, I have been given scans of printouts from digital spreadsheets. This makes the job of digitising the data far more time consuming and difficult.

As of now I am waiting on expenses data for 2000 and 1999, which I expect to receive in hard copy, and not even in table form. This will mean a huge amount of manual effort to tabulate the data. The Oireachtas also sought an extension on releasing this data. After that it’s 1998 data. And a huge effort to tabulate it correctly so we can understand how much our representatives cost us.

But a number of things have emerged during the process. Hold onto your hats.

As I blogged before, my original request for 2002/2001 expenses data was refused under Section 10 (1) (c) of the Act – that “in the opinion of the head, granting the request would, by reason of the number or nature of the records concerned or the nature of the information concerned, require the retrieval and examination of such number of records or an examination of such kind of the records concerned as to cause a substantial and unreasonable interference with or disruption of the other work of the public body concerned”. I immediately appealed this for internal review. Two weeks later my review was successful and is it turned out, part of the expenses record was missing:

“I am refusing access to the records for 2001 and 2002 in relation to the expenses
claimed from the Grants-in-aid in respect of inter-parliamentary activities and the
British Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body as it has not been possible to find the records in
question – which would have been created in hard copy format only. These records
are outside of the main electronic accounting system for the office so details of claims
paid are not available through this system. I should point out there is a general rule
that permits the destruction of records, particularly hard copy records, relating to the
accounts for a particular year once those accounts have been audited by the
Comptroller and Auditor General and reported on by the Committee of Public
Accounts. This process would generally conclude within 2/3 years of the end of a
particular accounting year.

Fine, we can get over that. I have sought an explanation from the Oireachtas, and it is pending. But something else has also emerged, which perhaps I should have known, but failed to notice. There is a whole other set of data related to how much our TDs and Senators spend, that is not included in the expenses system. This is the system of costs.

When TDs travel under Irish Parliamentary Association or other committee travel or parliamentary travel, they do not necessarily go through the expenses system. In other words not everything is claimed. And since I only sought “expenses” details, that is all I was provided with. Letter of the law, and all that jazz. But in the costs system, the Oireachtas pay up front for certain things, without a TD claiming for them. This skews the figures just a tad.

For example, it throws British Irish Parliamentary Association TD data for 2007 out by some €16,000. That’s €16k more than I thought on the basis of expenses data. Other figures are bigger. And I am not including the costs of sending anonymous (so far, anyway) civil servants with TDs on such trips, be it to Mexico, Oxfordshire or other far flung places.

So the process of getting a full picture, at least for 2005 to 2009, is going to be a while yet.

Bertie Ahern, de-yartist

Suzy had the eyes peeled on somewhere none of the rest of us thought of interest. Go read her post.

Bertie Ahern, he’s an artist, didn’t you know.

Updated: Four thoughts –

1) Does this mean The Buke is officially deemed a work of fiction? “Cultural or artistic merit”, hmm… set me straight here, folks.

2) He has a tax clearence certificate now?

3) Shouldn’t it be Richard Aldous, not Bertie Ahern himself, who avails of this tax exemption.

4) I’m keeping this one to myself… I’m sure regular readers will know exactly what I’m thinking.

Whiddy Island Tribunal report

Update: the full version is below, made available by the Oireachtas.

I have started scanning the report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the accident at Whiddy Island. I will upload it in tranches. It has also been OCRd. This is, I believe, the first time this document has appeared online.T

You can also view this Wikipedia page if you wish to read more about the Whiddy Island incident. It was an explosion of an oil tanker off the coast of Cork in the late 70s that caused the death of 51 people and serious environmental damage.



Donegal County Council's Budget-passing woes

A small sidebar piece on page four of today’s Sunday Tribune raised a half-smile-half-grimace from me.

Today’s edition hasn’t gone online yet, so I can’t link, quote or send traffic to Tribune.ie, unfortunately. However, the story to which I refer is pretty much a rewrite of this piece from the Donegal Democrat. One-line summary; the 10 Fianna Fáil county councillors in Donegal passed the annual council Budget while the other 19 councilors were out of the room.

Carolyn Farrar of the Democrat reports…

Labour Cllr. Frank McBrearty Jr said that Donegal Mayor, Fianna Fáil Cllr. Brendan Byrne, has broken the trust in the council chamber by allowing a quorum of 10 Fianna Fáil councillors to adopt the 2010 budget while the remaining 19 were in a meeting down the hall.

[…] This was Cllr. McBrearty’s first budget meeting and he said he was led to believe meetings would be adjourned and reconvened several times to allow for negotiations among parties, as they had been in the past.

“Dirty tricks politics is what it is,” Cllr. McBrearty said. He said the move will affect the way he sees the chair.

Note: Labour, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and one independent are in coalition to run the council.

How does the Fianna Fáil mayor, who is also the chair – therefore, neutral – feel? Ocean FM reports… Continue reading “Donegal County Council's Budget-passing woes”