A video of the majority of the supplementary bludget speech from Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan to Dáil Eireann yesterday. The row at the beginning over the press getting the speech first is very interesting! I’ve not watched it all through again (once is enough for anyone!) but if you notice anything startling leave a comment!
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guess it was to restrict the opposition coming up with arguements and confering with advisors
Both in the speech as on the prompter above and over on the budget site he says 10% reductions in energy costs by September but he said next month and that’s what people had gone with in commentary on twitter and elsewhere but which is it?
http://budget.gov.ie/2009SupApril09/FinancialStatement.html
“The Government expects to see reductions of about 10% in energy costs for electricity and gas consumers by September. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will be seeking ways to lower costs further on an ongoing basis.”
Checked my Credit Card statement today. There was a €7 charge for going over my limit. Two things. First. I thought that credit cards were supposed to be declined if they went over the limit. Second, this charge was dated the day of the emergency budget. The day that AIB (my bank), got a chunky share of €90 BILLION. Now I know that it may seem petty to be moaning about €7, but man did that annoy me!!
Can anyone find a picture of Bertie’s miserable face, as he realises his chances for the Aras in 2011 have gone down the toilet with the economy…
Contra Bart, i got a 40 cent rebate on my card (BoI, and not sure what it was for). Yay! It makes all the pain go away. On the budget,I see this one -and the threats implied by future bludgets – as a complete mishandling of the banking/ fiscal crisis. Principally, there was no economic stimulus, which would have given some hope, light at end of tunnel or whatever. A good measure would have been a car scrappage scheme, which is a win-win for the govt politically and economically/fiscally.
The outcome of the govt’s ineptitude will, however, potentially lead to a political sea-change IMO, if the opposition can generate some novel ideas rather than just oppose the sneaky snakes. While Lenihan has announced the Levies are to be made permanent, Labour should focus on poverty as an issue. I’m thinking this govt won’t last long anyhow,for some strange reason, wilderness is so appealing when you’ve lost the plot guys, isn’t it? While the FF monolith might collapse in an ugly way, it is clear to me that they are not pursuing relevant politics/ policies for the 21st century and it will need a new generation of leadership to change their tack (a la UK Tories).
I’ll watch the video nasty in the morning Suzy!
Elf in Amsterdam | Elf's Drinky Links (VI) // Apr 11, 2009 at 23:14
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