Image via Wikipedia For Part 1 see here Minister for Finance Michael Noonan TD today announced the rest of Budget 2012. The main points are as follows: VAT: Raised by 2% to 23% 1.4c increase on Petrol 1.6c increase on Diesel €17.32 increase on Fuel Oil (to rise in May) €14.46 increase on Natural Gas (to rise in May) No Carbon Tax on solid fuels 25c increase on pack of 20 Cigarettes Capital Acquisitions Tax: Up from 25% to...
Today we got a look at the first part of Budget 2012 . Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin today announced a series of measures that add up to the €2.2bn in cuts. The main points that I took from today’s announcements: Government will reduce the size of the public service to 282,500 by end 2015 €250 added to the Student Registration Fee Student Support funding cut by 14% Student Maintenance Grant cut by 3% No new...
Willie Penrose TD and Minister of State at Department of Environment, Community & Local Government with responsibility for Housing & Planning has resigned from the Cabinet and from the Labour Party. Penrose was a Super Junior Minister meaning he was entitled to attend all Cabinet meetings. He has resigned over the issue of the closure of Columb Barracks in Mullingar which is within his constituency. He has issued this statement (from Politics.ie ) It was regret that I tendered my...
Image via Wikipedia This Evening the House of Commons will be debating the Loans to Ireland Bill which will allow the United Kingdom to give a loan of £3,250 million to Ireland. The plan is that the bill will finish off all stages today. It will pass the Committee stage in the whole House. Already today the issue has been raised four times in the House of Commons. The first time by Mark Reckless, MP for Rochester and Strood,...
So I deliberately didn’t write about the budget yesterday. I was too annoyed and I would write the wrong thing. But today, I am a little calmer. This post is about how the budget affects me, expect broader posts as the week go on. Basically this is a rant! Overall I am not happy with the budget. That is fairly obvious. While I myself am not massively hit straight away, my pay package from the 1st of January will...
Image by Landahlauts via Flickr So last night it finally happened. We formalised the bailout. We are taking an €85 billion loan. We will be paying an interest rate of about 5.8%. We will be loaning money to ourselves. Yes, you read that last line right. €17.5 billion will be coming for the National Pension Reserve Fund and the other cash on hand funds. Who’s fault is this? The Banks. €35 billion of this is for them. €50 billion...
Image via Wikipedia Charlie Flanagan TD has flagged up an interesting article in Bunreacht na hEireann on Facebook which could cause a headache for the Government. The Constitution in Article 29.5.2 states The State shall not be bound by any international agreement involving a charge upon public funds unless the terms of the agreement shall have been approved by Dáil Éireann. This will lead to a few interesting days in the Dáil chamber. The Bailout cannot be drawn down...
Image via Wikipedia A statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. Mr George Osborne. From Hansard: With permission, Mr Speaker, I should like to make a statement regarding financial assistance for Ireland.I hope Members will understand that an announcement had to be made at the weekend, ahead of markets opening this morning. Last night, I spoke to the Chair of the Treasury Committee and the shadow Chancellor to keep them informed of the latest developments. The...
Image via Wikipedia According to EUBusiness our Corporate Tax rate is not as safe as our government is claiming. Steffen Seibert the current head of the German governmental press- and information-agency has stated: The German government will not be making proposals” regarding potential reforms to be put in place for the up to 90-billion-euro (123-billion-dollar) package “But it is clear that corporation tax should be one point among others when one considers how to increase the ‘receipts’ part of...
Image via Wikipedia Maman Poulet has the story that the IMF are sending a team to Ireland to “participate in a short and focused consultation, together with the European Commission, and the ECB, in order to determine the best way to provide any necessary support to address market risks.” Full statement here How long until they are running the country? And how long can we hold out on this bailout? We either need a General Election or to give...
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