Tuesday 27 September 2011

The Claim Game

Ask any ordinary working family how much they earn and they’ll tell you not enough! They will tell you how much they are struggling to keep the wolf (bank) from their door. They will tell you how they now shop in German discount stores as opposed to one of the national symbol groups and they will tell you how much they fear anyone in the family unit getting sick, as they don’t have a medical card

They will go on to talk about the fear they have of events like birthdays, mothers day, fathers day, Easter and Christmas and the cost of daily, weekly and monthly life. They will tell you that they can barely afford to put petrol in the car, a car they need to get to work as they live outside of the city, or the cost of getting the kids back to school.

Ordinary decent working families in Ireland today live in fear, they are fighting for survival with their very last breaths and the air is running out. These people have worked all their lives, they have paid multiple taxes, they have done everything that has been asked of them by the government and for this they are doomed to play the game of life in peasantry. A life for some that is not worth living…

But there are others who play a very different game they play the claim game. It’s a game the whole family can play by making a claim to the Department of Social Protection for just about anything and everything. The winners of this game know how to play the system for all it’s worth! They know every tactic, every play, every “right” they have and they get paid.

There appears to be an international federation of “players” who actively partake in the claim game with a number of foreign national players sending their “winnings” back home, wherever “home” happens to be. This transfer of winnings is preformed week in, week out in the very building where they collect their winnings. There are too many stories told by friends and family about witnessing this very act of money transfer in the local post office for it to be a petty rumour.

Today in the Irish examiner we are told of a family who are “winning”over €90k a year and how a Senator thinks this is wrong, “€50,000 is more than enough for a family to survive on”

Well in the first place, he’s right. €90k a year (cash in hand!) for doing nothing is excessive and to say that €50,000 is more than enough for a family to survive on” is also right but I can tell you that he is very wrong if he thinks that most families come even close to that level of income. A family bringing in €50K has to earn well over €100K before tax to even see €50K coming into the household. What job pays that these days. The only families I know of earning that type of money work for banks or semi-state companies or better yet – the Government and they are at the top of those organisations

In effect, this “winning” family are taking in over €190K “before tax…

Time to learn how to play a new game me thinks…

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Our freedom again


Today for the first time since I was a young boy, I feel poor… I have reached my personal tipping point and there is no going back.

Today I lost something which was very dear to me. It was mine, my thing, my choice, my small indulgence, it was mine but now it is gone and with it my freedom. I feel lost without it even though many would be grateful to loose such a thing but again all I can say is that it was mine and I miss it so.

If I had made a choice to go without it then I am sure these thoughts and words would not exist in my mind and in front of my eyes, more and more words explaining how I feel, an open window to the darkest reaches of my being. But I feel empowered by each word I write; I feel the anger behind each sentence. The words are alive, and speaking to me in hate filled tones of the darkest kind imaginable.

The words I speak are the words of future revolution. Once again, oppressed men and women of Ireland will come together and rise up against the ones who claim rights over our lives, for who are they to claim this right and who are we to accept this in passing and without recourse. Once before, our nations young and old came together to fight for the right to live a free life, many laid down their lives in the pursuit of freedom and I see now that many will come to this point in the future and they will choose freedom, they will choose life beyond the stars for the sake of Irish freedom.

This will be their choice, theirs alone to have and to hold, and they will rejoice in the feeling of power and might this choice delivers upon them. This will be their finest moment, a self empowerment, a rising from within and they will rejoice in their own splendour.

Today we live in constant debt; we are trained to do this as a method of controlling us so that we conform into the “Citizen bank”. This bank is not financially modelled, well not fully; it is the strategy of freedom control management. It’s simple really, let everyone feel and believe that they are free and they will wrap a tread of life around themselves so tightly, that they will become self conforming. They will work harder and pay taxes upon taxes, higher and higher until they can pay no more. And when that point comes, they will be offered a loan to help them into a “better structured” lifestyle.

These treads of life become a spider’s web of debt, once attached, you can never escape. The complex web structure is designed to offer you the vision of freedom through multiple paths of “escape” or fulfilment by offering you more and more avenues of credit. All the time you and drawn closer to the spider in the centre of the web.

Tonight I see that ordinary citizens of Ireland will over the next short period of time become self aware; they will finally see how corrupt our nation is; how unequal it is for the vast majority and how doomed it is without change. They will reach their own personal tipping point and they will awake to thoughts of revolution, thoughts of violence, thoughts of change, thoughts of life, thoughts of death, thoughts of freedom.

Tonight I am reborn in the shadow of Irish freedom with determination in my mind, body and soul. I dare to dream during the day and I swear to act on those dreams with all the energy I can amass until Ireland is free once more.

ár saoirse arís

Monday 12 September 2011

A reasonable cause…

I remember watching on telly, the fall of the Berlin wall, I knew there and then that this was a significant event. I remember hearing about the release of Nelson Mandela and again I knew there and then that this was a significant event and I remember watching the news of the attack on the World Trade Centres in New York and once again I knew there and then that this was a significant event.

Knowing that these events were significant is the easy part; coming to terms with the extent of the significance of an event like these, is a whole different ball game; now throw in the question of cause…

Over this past weekend I watched two very different types of programmes; the Rugby World Cup and the coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9|11 and I can tell you that both were upsetting. In regard to the rugby, I have no comment (yet) as I will reserve my opinion for another day, but in regard to 9|11, the extensive coverage transported me back 10 years to memories of that faithful day when all around me sat my colleagues at their desks in the office where I worked, each one of them in shock at the tragedy unfolding on our computer screens.

The sheer magnitude of the event presented itself to one and all, apart from our manager who was getting increasingly annoyed at us for not working!

This event playing out on our computer screens was to us mere employees more important than the drawings we were supposed to be doing but our manager held a very different view “it’s not like its happening in Dublin”, “can we get back to work!
He was right of course, this attack was thousands of miles away from where we sat, there was very little chance if any existed at all of it being directly related to us and work had to be done. I have thought about his reaction many times since 9|11 and each time I do, I end up both annoyed at him for his uncaring attitude towards the event and sad for him for having this attitude in the first place.

What pressure must he have been under to establish a thought process within him which dismissed the 9|11 event as a world defining moment capable of affecting every person on the planet to nothing more than a distraction from the days work. Was this pressure to work put upon him by others or was it his own need to deliver work no matter what was going on at that time. Was his response correct or was it uncaring. In truth, I believe that he was under pressure from others to deliver and as such, he passed on this pressure to the worker ants. There was no room for caring in this model of business he practiced as caring did not deliver profits, in fact, caring cost money.

That’s it, this means war!” was a comment one of my colleagues repeated time and time again over the course of the afternoon, “The yanks won’t take that lying down – someone’s going to die” he continued. This reaction to the event was very human, very ordinary in fact but it was also very honest and believable. Of course the great nation of America was going to war, that was beyond doubt but with who? That was the real question. We speculated to no avail but agreed, “someone’s going to die” you don’t hit the Yanks and get away with it!

The media, which were dealing with the biggest story of this generation, of course quickly relayed the call for war. America had been attacked “without cause” and America would react to this by attacking those who where behind the attackers. They told the world that it had a choice, stand by our side or be in our sights. The effect of this attack was about to be felt throughout the entire world in a fashion unseen before now. Throughout history, the human race has witnessed the effects of traditional wars and we have looked to place the finger of blame on a sole figurehead. We have names in our heads of men who have caused the deaths of millions and we have taken sides against these men if an effort to bring to an end the suffering and death of the innocent.

This event was however very different; there was no one nation attacking another, no military equipment been deployed against the nation under attack. This was the action of a small number of men using the equipment of everyday society to attack the civilians of a nation, which the attackers held responsible for causing the attack in the name of retaliation.

On that beautiful morning in New York, the innocent numbering in there thousands were murdered and in the hearts, minds and souls of every American was a number of questions; who has done this? Where do they live? How long will it be until they are dead?

Each question was a reasonable and understandable reaction to the attack, each question was caused by an event that was in the minds of their attackers a reaction to prior events carried out in the names of the citizens and as such it was more than just a reasonable cause, it was a holy one…

Friday 9 September 2011

Private number

“Mind the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”… My granny told me this many times growing up. She was the “second in command” in a household of eight, but as we all know, Ireland of yesteryear was run by the “mammy” of the house while the head man was out doing hard manual work over long hours with the obligatory stop off in the village for a couple of scoops before home and dinner.

At that time in Dublin, the economics of weekly survival was in the hands of the predominantly Jewish moneylenders who would deal with the mammy’s every Friday evening. These men were small in stature but they more than made up for it with the power they commanded. The stories about them are not of violence, far from it, you see these men of power used words and lots of them. They were educated men with money and power, they had no need or inclination to resort to acts or even threats of violence; they simply talked their “clients” into submission.

At the same time each and every week like clockwork they would walk the streets of Dublin, where curtains twitched constantly, their heads down looking at their polished shoes, their hands buried deep in the pockets of their long coats and with their hats firmly on their heads. Unlike any other night of the week, the streets were quiet, no children out playing, time stood still until the money collector had been and gone. The mammy’s of course knew he was coming but that didn’t stop them from peaking out the window to watch his progress, “he’s in with Sheila now”, “another six stops until he is knocking on my door”, “five, four, three…”

When the knock came, it was as if the Christ Church bells where inside the house. The mammy knew she had to answer the door she had no choice. With her purse tucked in the apron pockets, children out of sight, doors closed and only the landing light on to illuminate the hallway in a dim glow, the door was opened. “Ah… hello Misses Fitzgerald…” The mammy smiled but not fully, you can’t seem to be happy, you can’t let him know anything or he’ll want more. The money collector was stood in front of the mammy with his little book in his hands, the mammy always stared at it, she hated and feared that book as much as she did the man who held it.

And so with the business completed, off the money collector would go always leaving the mammy with the same words echoing around inside her mind “see you next week”

This was Dublin in the rare old times, but it is also Dublin of the now times. The man has changed, the knock at the door remains but it is now more likely to be the sound of the home telephone or the mobile ringing, constantly ringing. Ringing, ringing, ringing, morning, noon and night. Just like in the past, there are no threats of violence; they simply talk their “clients” into submission. The same clients they advertised too, the same clients that were shown into the private consultation room and spoken to by the highly trained “Mortgage Advisor” The same clients who received the “sign on” gift of a bottle opener to be used on the champagne they would drink to celebrate their new home.

These clients had no idea what was happening at the time when they signed away their remaining independent lives, sure they had a solicitor “working on their behalf” but it was most likely one off a “recommended” list. Speed of completion was top of the agenda for all concerned; any delay would see these people “lose” the new house they had queued up to place a deposit on. The Builders / Developers didn’t like to be kept waiting! Each month the price of the new house would go up, not due to inflation; more likely down to the length of the queues of people the builder could see waiting for the show house to open on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The longer the queue, the more the price would rise for the release of the next “block” of houses.

Today, the young couple, the single person, the young family, your friends and neighbours sit in their homes waiting and waiting for the sound of ringing…“Oh… hello Misses Fitzgerald…this is Tina from… I’m calling about your arrears…”

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Playing the blame game

Last month we witnessed the “worst riots in a generation” according to the UK Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke. Over the course of the nightly riots, hundreds of millions of pounds (even more in euros!) worth of material damage was done, some 3,000 individuals were arrested and five people lost their lives. The London Police force spent an extra 74 million pounds on committing resources to deal with the wild disturbances as reported by acting London police chief Tim Godwin. Other forces that sent officers to help cities tackle the riots spent another 50 million pounds nationally according to Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers.

A fine mess altogether and a very costly one at that, the final cost will probably never be truly known. Courts are sitting morning, noon and night; the prison system is at capacity and all the time the costs just keep on getting bigger and bigger. It could easily run into a billion pounds or more if you were to take count of every expense incurred and lets face it, no country can afford that type of “miscellaneous” expenditure in these days of austerity.

So who is going to pay for this, someone has to pick up the bill; well the one group who you can be sure will not be paying this financial bill are the very same ones who caused it… the rioters. Funny that, it’s like going into a restaurant and not only ordering whatever you want and not paying for it, you also smash the place up and steal whatever takes your fancy. The police are called to respond to your behaviour, they arrest you, process you and take you to court where you are represented by a court appointed lawyer, your found guilty and receive a custodial sentence; you are taken to a prison where you are kept warm and dry, never hungry and fully entertained and if the social system in the UK is anything like it is here in Ireland, your dependents receive extra social welfare payments because of the “hardship” of you being in prison… and who pays for all of this, that’s right, the taxpayer does.

Reuters (London) reports that Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said the riots showed the urgent need to reform a penal system with a "straightforwardly dreadful" record of rehabilitating inmates. Nearly 75 percent of adults charged in last month's riots in England were known criminals with prior convictions. Clarke believes that the riots are the legacy of a broken penal system with a dreadful record in preventing re-offending.

First finger of blame goes to: the prison system for not turning the bold boys and girls into good boys and girls. How can society build and survive if we are unable to give these poor misguided things hope and a sense of value and an education and a job and a holiday and a car and a house and a pony and a holiday home and a boat and a…

Second finger of blame goes to: society for not caring and sharing. This I agree with 100%. Society is to blame, we have not cared enough and we have not shared enough with this “feral underclass” who value nothing and want everything for free! We have not cared that they contribute nothing to society, we have not cared enough about them being a financial drain on society, and we have not cared enough about how they are allowed to get away with breaking the law while taxpayers pick up the bill.

How can society build and survive if we do not take action against those who choose to live their lives fighting society. Why should these people not be held accountable for the full cost of their actions? The true cost of crime is never taken into account when the judge hands down the sentence. Someone who breaks into a house is not in my view committing a “petty crime” they are committing social terrorism. Their actions spreads fear throughout the community and not just within their victims. If we as a society are to live productive lives we must demand action by governments against these social terrorists so that we may live in peace.

The full and true cost of crime must be placed on the shoulders of those who commit crime so that they understand the full extent of their actions. I am sure that a system can be designed where by these people can work off this debt in a manner that educates them with skills for use when they return to society. That would be in my view a caring response to the issue.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/justice-minister-blames-riots-penal-system-report-013828827.html

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Looking up at the house on the hill …

Bono is right, no doubt about it, here in Ireland we have an “interesting attitude to success” and not just “BIG” success, small success too, in fact any success at all!

On the 20th September 2002, Oprah Winfrey interviewed Bono on her show under the title of “ROCK STAR BONO'S MISSION TO SAVE THE WORLD”
And during the interview Oprah asked Bono about his daily life when he is at home.

“Because you can just pop into a pub and nobody-- it's no big deal” – Winfrey

“Well, yeah, depending on the pub” – Bono

Bono then went on to explain – “I've often told this, but it's like, you know, in America, you look up at the house on the hill, the mansion on the hill and say, "One day I'm-- that-- that could be me." In Ireland, they look up at the mansion on the hill and go, "One day I'm gonna get that bastard”

“OK…” – Winfrey

Says it all really, as I said, Bono is right and when a man is right, he’s right. At this point you might expect to read “But is he right…” not this time - he’s right.
We are a nation of begrudgers, in fact if it was an Olympic sport – “And Ireland wins Gold again… !!!!!” we would be that good. FACT.

Every one of us begrudges the next, the poor begrudge the rich, the unemployed (I hate that word!) begrudge the employed who in turn begrudge their managers who in turn begrudge the directors who in turn begrudge other directors who in turn begrudge the owners. Civil servants begrudge all other civil servants while at the same time all private sector workers begrudge all civil servants. Neighbours begrudge neighbours; families begrudge family relations, etc. etc. One big old nation of begrudgers, that’s us in a nutshell, and you can be sure somebody somewhere begrudges our nutshell!

A fine mess altogether when you think about it, especially when you consider the state of the country and the task ahead of each and every one of us to first survive, then to grow. For a nation of begrudgers, I fear this task is one destined to fail, ask yourself, how on earth can we survive and grow if each and every one of us begrudges the next. Well the Tánaiste and Labour Party leader Eamon Gimore, who yesterday warned of tough decisions to be made in December's Budget believes the Government would "level with people" by telling them that while it will be difficult, “they are going to get on with it

Is that it, is that the answer, head down, keep her lit, plough on, etc. etc.

Well that’s all right then… is it? Well no in fact its not “alright” and no we will not simply “get on with it” as suggested by the Tánaiste. We need to see the government move on the issues that mean something and NOT for politics sake but for the future of the country and the futures of each and everyone of its citizens before all is lost in a see of debt and depression.

Bloomberg, this morning published a reported on the state and fate of U.S. homeowners under the title “For the Economy, the Real Slam Dunk Is Debt Forgiveness: View” In their article they make the point that homeowners don’t need another reduction in their mortgage payments. What they need is a break on their debts. Obama’s people are looking at a strategy, which would refinance the loans of millions of homeowners in negative equity and by doing so the country would be better off. They believe that by “focusing on borrowers who are current on their payments, it would reward people who have acted responsibly -- as opposed to previous mortgage-modification programs, which have been limited mainly to defaulters”

Bloomberg’s view is that a better strategy would be to avert the foreclosures in the first place by writing down the principal on loans. With 13.3 million U.S. mortgage borrowers effectively in negative equity, Bloomberg believe that this approach, if done on a grand scale, would go a long way toward eliminating the debt burden that is hindering the recovery of the country and crucially, the debt relief would come in at minimal added cost to the U.S. taxpayer!

So Tánaiste, I want to level with you keep it simple stupid and get on with it!

bloomberg.com debt-forgiveness view

Gilmore warns of tough decisions in Budget

Monday 5 September 2011

Oh No they didn't.....Oh Yes they did!!!

I remember as a child going one year to the annual Christmas panto in the Gaiety Theatre… it was a big treat as we had never gone to it before then and we never went again after. You see my one parent family was financially poor, we lived in a council house and my mother was not in work for long periods of my childhood. So it is understandable that this “treat” was so cherished by me that to this day I remember standing outside waiting to go in feeling overjoyed and excited at what was to be the highlight of Christmas,

I distinctly remember looking at this fantastic building with its beautiful big doors and the all the lights and the smell when we finally got inside. I also remember looking at the other children around me, they looked different to me, they acted different, sounded different and one other thing, they had two parents with them. This was nothing new, growing up in Ireland with only one parent made you stand out, it also got you bullied everyday in a school where the headmaster once told me that I didn’t fit in here and would be better off somewhere else!

Getting back to the Panto, it was great and I loved every minute of it especially when my mother said I could get some sweets from the kiosk before we took our seats. It is only with hindsight that I now understand the look on her face when the kiosk attendant told her how much we owed for the sweets I picked out. The money was paid over and we took our sweets, which I shared with mum as she had decided not to buy her own sweets.

Shoes, coats and scarf’s was another thing I remember about the evening in the Gaiety, every other child seemed to have new shoes, new coats, new scarf’s, they looked so warm, so new. I had a navy anorak and a scarf that my mum or granny had knitted; it was very long and a bit scratchy.

To me, that day in the Gaiety was a special day, a day to remember, a treat once had but never forgotten but I wonder do the other children who attended on the magical evening remember it at all. Was it a special treat for them or was it an annual event. Did their parents save up to bring them to the Panto or did their daddy’s get the tickets for free…

In December 2008, Anglo Irish Bank spent €24,000 bringing customers and their children to the annual Christmas panto in the Gaiety Theatre. The bank was at that time taking its first steps down the road of the Government bank guarantee scheme. It was, as a business, bust, but did it stop the party…Oh No it didn’t… they also spent over spent €53,000 on hampers and wine for clients and a big old party in the Mansion House costing €175,000.
Now for those of you reading this three years on, I would ask you to ask yourself one question, one tiny little question, a yes or no answer will do…


Q: Do you believe this sort of activity has stopped within our banks?

Sunday 4 September 2011

What's in a name?

On St. Valentine’s Day I gave my wife a lovely bunch of fresh shit sticks, they cost a pretty penny but I knew she would love them. They are a thing of beauty and the smell of fresh shit sticks wafted throughout the entire house...Ok, you get the picture, if a rose was called a shit stick, no matter how beautiful and fresh smelling it is, no one would buy them, let alone give them to a loved one.

But that’s a product name and no right minded business would be so stupid as to name a product so badly that no one wanted to buy it. The fact is, businesses spend vast amounts of money on marketing to get things like the name right so that we the consumer buy the product. Take perfume for example, it’s as individual as the people who buy it, or so they say. Wrong! Perfume is not individual. It is designed to fit a segment of the consumer market. It is a response to crunching numbers, analysing data such as that published by the CSO on the make up of the “people”, their whereabouts, their age, their marital status, the breakdown of the sexes, working or not in work (I hate using the word “unemployed” so I won’t use it) and the type of work they do… etc. etc.

This data is fed into the marketing dept. and from this comes a request for a new fragrance which has “tones” of whatever best fits in with the data. Then comes the name, the packaging, the look and feel of the product, the ad campaign etc. etc.
As consumers, especially those in the targeted market segment, we don’t stand a chance. The opposition is loaded with star players and we are just an amateur side.

So when I hear the words “Debt Forgiveness” I can’t but help think about marketing and the way it works in favour of some and against others. If I was running a bank in Ireland and had available to me the data on home loans in arrears, I would be looking for a way to protect the bank above all else. I would be well aware of the pressure building up from all sides to deliver a solution, that is inevitable, but a solution at what cost, that’s something I as the head of the bank can do something about through clever marketing.

So off to the Head of Marketing I go with my data and from this meeting we decide to “name the product” this is very important as it will be used to divide up the loan book from those who are paying and those who are not. You see the Irish consumer is ashamed of not being able to pay the bills and this shame is a tone we can use to limit the amount of deals the bank will have to make and thus limit the losses. So I want a name which is strong but still open, I want the name to have an action, I want it to come with remorse and so I call it “Debt Forgiveness”

This is a great name because it makes those who need it feel guilty and those who don’t feel anger against those who do. Perfect! The more we use this name the more we will limit the damage to the banking sector. We can be seen as “ready and willing to help” but we can also play the poor hand card to the government and put blame on the shoulders of those who can not pay. The name will cause debate on the airwaves, it will split the population between the can and cannot pay, between those who bought a new house and those who didn’t but most of all it will set neighbour against neighbour, home owner against home owner, friend against friend and will make sure that they can never join forces against the banks!

This naming trick is nothing new, in fact the banking sector in Ireland is the most successful player of this trick in the world as far as I can tell. The people of Ireland has over the last number of years been fed a long line of tones in the form of action names, such as “Bank Recapitalisation”, “Debt Restructuring”, “Economic Recovery”, “Fiscal Consolidation” all great action names with enough tones to feed an army on the march.
But look at the examples I gave you, three of them use “Re” to set the correct tone in the minds of those who hear it. This is a tone of hope, it signals a new beginning based on the past experience, “we’ll re-build it better this time – don’t worry” yet when it comes to the issue of mortgage debt we hear the word “Forgiveness” this is very strong, “you did wrong, but I will forgive you as long as you never do it again!” where is the hope of a new beginning in this tone? There is none, none by design! We are to be repentant of our sins until the day we die…

For what it’s worth, I believe in finding a solution to the issue of mortgage debt for the good of the country. I believe there should be a blanket “Equity Debt Write Down” programme which would revalue all mortgages taken out over the last eight years under an agreed set amount of percentage level discounts. I believe that this programme should only apply to primary homes and not to any second (buy to let) / investment properties as these are seen as a business venture and are subject to being handled under business law.  This country needs to secure future growth but that is dependent on the amount of spend in the pockets of the people.

No action on mortgages = no growth in the economy, let this happen and a depression will be the only outcome for one and all.

Saturday 3 September 2011

To pay the mortgage or feed the kids... that is the question !

With the blessings of luck and a good bit of hard work, presently, I am not faced with having to answer this question, although I can tell you my answer would be.. f*@k the bank, who wants a takeaway !!!!

With that said, I know we are lucky. So many people today are living in an Ireland were what was once seen as a daily routine by the masses of stopping in a shop for a takeaway coffee and a breakfast roll on the way to work is now a very distant memory, both the coffee and the work is gone ! replaced with desperation.

Takeaway coffee is now a luxury that few can afford… but with the banks, utility companies and the government continually raising their rates and taxes, basic food items are fast becoming something that few can afford also. The real cost of living in this country is becoming more and more expensive as the weeks and months go by. The basic act of feeding yourself and your dependants is under serious threat. More and more people are reaching breaking point; more and more people are turning to the likes of LIDL and ALDI so as to make what little money they have last longer.
Gone are the days of shopping in Marks & Sparks or even Superquinn for that matter, gone are the days of only buying “branded” products – its own label all the way now.

On Friday last I went to ALDI to buy lunch for myself and two colleagues (it was my turn) I bought a pack of soft rolls, packet of cheese, some pâté and a big bag of cheese & onion crisps (6 packets included) for the grand total of €3.76. Happy with my purchases I skipped back to the office where myself and my colleagues dinned like Kings!... but did we really?

You see as good as the meal was, and it was good, we all had enough to make us feel full and happy, not one of us thought about the food from a healthy eating aspect. Like everything else that we held so close to our hearts during the “good” years, the healthy eating is gone and in its place is budget foods from budget stores. The gyms are gone, unless you work for a semi-state or bank, the bottles of water are gone – long live tap water, (until they tax it !!), the “go-large” meal deal on a McD’s has been replaced with the “euro-saver menu” and even in the local chipper, the days of looking at the bright menu board are gone, now we look in the window for that days special offer – and only if we’re feeling flush and can justify buying a takeaway.

As I stated above, €3.76 was able to feed 3 adults for lunch which is not too bad from our point of view, we’re working and although money is tight, we can take turns during the week and spend less than a fiver “buying” lunch (come on guys, it’s on me !) but we are lucky… there are people today in Ireland who don’t have even a fiver to feed themselves…

These people are not in Africa, their photo is not on GOAL or Concerns websites and TV adverts, they are not being held up as the reason for an AID concert, there is no concert for these people, no TV adverts, no international appeal, nothing is said…

These people are in Ireland, they are our neighbours, they are our friends, and our families.

A Tale of Two Creditors...

On Friday, 2 September 2011 a strange thing happened down in the High Court... two cases, one Judge, one law... two outcomes !


According to RTE News Anglo secures injunction over wind-up claim

Anglo Irish Bank secured a temporary High Court injunction, (granted by Mr Justice Daniel O'Keeffe), against a Co. Cork solicitor who petitioned the court to have the state owned bank wound up. The applicant, Mr. Declan Guilfoyle, claims that he is owed money by the bank. Anglo on the other hand claimed that the application to wind up the bank amounted to an abuse of process and that it was an attempt at debt collection

Indeed... Anglo's Senior Counsel, Mr. John Breslin said it was in effect a form of debt collection which he, (Mr. Declan Guilfoyle), was not entitled to do ! and that such an attempt could only be considered to be an abuse of process which would court controversy... Mr Justice Daniel O'Keeffe granted the bank an interim injunction restraining Mr Guilfoyle. O'Keeffe also granted the bank an interim injunction preventing Mr Guilfoyle from advertising or publishing any such petition. The case due back in court next Wednesday.
 
 On the same day in the same court with the same Judge...

According to RTE News Application to wind-up Anam Mobiles withdrawn

The Revenue withdrew an application to have a firm wound up after reaching "agreement" with the same company, in their petition to the court, Revenue had sought to wind-up Anam Mobiles on the basis that it was insolvent and unable to pay its debts !

Now you can call me stupid, but does it not seem to the ordinary decent people of this country, that both of these cases are in effect the same... except for the fact that on one hand, the idea of using section 213 of the Companies Act (1963) to get money that is owed to an individual is to be seen as nothing more than "a form of debt collection" and hence not successful... and on the other hand when Revenue takes what appears to be the very same action... a deal is done and no one is the wiser !

Of course, this is just speculation but lets be honest here, Companies use section 213 to force their debtors to pay up. Everyone knows this, yet when this tactic is used against a state bank… suddenly it’s “an abuse of process which would court controversy”

I wonder what would happen, had Mr. Guilfoyle's petition been successful? Would the direction from the court to close the bank and appoint a liquidator help the state of the country or would it cause more harm...

Section 213 of the Companies Act 1963