Irish economic growth "like a leprechaun on steroids" says Financial Times editor

eireoflot

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.zakaria.gps/

On CNN's GPS programme the editor of the Financial Times Lionel Barber was on a small panel discussing the state of the Euro area. When referring to Ireland's economic boom he likened the growth the country experienced to a "a leprechaun on steroids". Thankfully he made no such ethnic slur when commenting on the other weak Euro economies. Coming from the editor of a publication read by those who will play a role in determining our economic future, it was glib and ignorant.

meditraitor

eireoflot wrote: »

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.zakaria.gps/

On CNN's GPS programme the editor of the Financial Times Lionel Barber was on a small panel discussing the state of the Euro area. When referring to Ireland's economic boom he likened the growth the country experienced to a "a leprechaun on steroids". Thankfully he made no such ethnic slur when commenting on the other weak Euro economies. Coming from the editor of a publication read by those who will play a role in determining our economic future, it was glib and ignorant.

Oh how I wish I was in that room, some other thin skinned mick got a wad of cash a few weeks ago when an equally non offensive statment was read by some dude in the UK....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7188874/Councillor-ordered-to-pay-compensation-for-racist-joke.html
Money for old rope

jmayo

eireoflot wrote: »

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.zakaria.gps/

On CNN's GPS programme the editor of the Financial Times Lionel Barber was on a small panel discussing the state of the Euro area. When referring to Ireland's economic boom he likened the growth the country experienced to a "a leprechaun on steroids". Thankfully he made no such ethnic slur when commenting on the other weak Euro economies. Coming from the editor of a publication read by those who will play a role in determining our economic future, it was glib and ignorant.

Have you ever read anything about our financial regulation or lack of it to be more precise.
Darby O'Gill would have made a better job of it than messrs hurley, o'reilly and neary put together.

At least the fictional character appeared to know the difference between a pot of gold and a pi** pot, unlike the above incompetents whose actions/inactions helped pi** our banking system away.

If you want to get angry with someone, get angry with the useless bunch of feckwits that caused all our problems, many of whom are still being rewarded by us taxpayers, and not the ones now laughing snidely at us.

We are the authors of our own downfall.

Anyway someone in the UK financial business should look closer to home as their own institutions are only still afloat thanks to their own taxpayers.

oppenheimer1

eireoflot wrote: »

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.zakaria.gps/

On CNN's GPS programme the editor of the Financial Times Lionel Barber was on a small panel discussing the state of the Euro area. When referring to Ireland's economic boom he likened the growth the country experienced to a "a leprechaun on steroids". Thankfully he made no such ethnic slur when commenting on the other weak Euro economies. Coming from the editor of a publication read by those who will play a role in determining our economic future, it was glib and ignorant.

While I may agree with the sentiment, that our economy was overheating obviously however I disagree with the language used.

Its not surprising though theres little sympathy for Ireland among the City people... not long ago the IRA did try to bomb it into oblivion. The FT ha long held an anti Ireland line.

johnnyskeleton

eireoflot wrote: »

Coming from the editor of a publication read by those who will play a role in determining our economic future, it was glib and ignorant.

I would say itss succient and well informed to be honest. A small little island off the coast of europe whose economy relies on construction, public sector and large taxes from multinational brass plate enterprises and we acted for so long like we were performing an economic miracle. Then bragging about it across europe and, when other euroleaders suggest that some of our success may be due to euro membership our minister for finance says that they're just jealous.

fontanalis

Don't give it if you can't take it, Irish people are fond enough at mocking the US then we get all hot and bothered when some justified criticism is thrown our way.

ardmacha

I would say itss succient and well informed to be honest. A small little island off the coast of europe whose economy relies on construction, public sector and large taxes from multinational brass plate enterprises and we acted for so long like we were performing an economic miracle

While the FT comments were ignorant of manners, this is ignorant of fact. Ireland had real economic achievements, reaching the highest growth levels in the Europe for several years with real production from multinationals and with a comparatively small public sector and modest enough taxes. OK so we overshot the mark somewhat on the construction thing, but some of the comments here suggest that there was never any real economic growth here when we came from two thirds of the EU average to average income levels in decade.

dan_d

To be fair, the language used there is insulting. His sentiment and facts may be true, but there's no need for him to be so rude.

fontanalis

dan_d wrote: »

To be fair, the language used there is insulting. His sentiment and facts may be true, but there's no need for him to be so rude.

Maybe something like this will cop people on!

johnnyskeleton

ardmacha wrote: »

While the FT comments were ignorant of manners, this is ignorant of fact. Ireland had real economic achievements, reaching the highest growth levels in the Europe for several years with real production from multinationals and with a comparatively small public sector and modest enough taxes. OK so we overshot the mark somewhat on the construction thing, but some of the comments here suggest that there was never any real economic growth here when we came from two thirds of the EU average to average income levels in decade.

Real production from multinationals. Comparatively small public sector?

LOL!

A statistic came out recently - that 50% of the workers in our export sector were in idigenous firms, and accounted for only 9% of total export revenues. Microsoft was funnelling in the region of 9bn of pure profit through Ireland every year. That's one company. In a normal functioning economy GDP and GNP are in the same region. In Ireland, GDP was some 30bn above GNP in 2006.

As for comparatively small public sector, while we may not have as many peopel working in the public sector as other countries, we have a similar level of spending on the public sector as countries such as Denmark, which have high taxes but also high levels of public services.

We had some fairly minor economic achievements, and some fairly major economic blunders. As a % of GDP, our external debt is the highest in the world. In the entire world.

I should say that I am not a believer in the Keynesian model of exponential growth so therefore maybe you see high growth as an achievement in itself but I don't. To my mind, our high growth was just a symptom of our excessive borrowing.

That is the reality of Ireland in recent years, and I'm glad to see that reality has not set in yet.

dunsandin

a simple road trip around any of our european neighbours would be enlightening - as you roll along mile after thousand mile of motorway, passing factories and productive farmland everywhere you look, reflect on your last drive from Dublin to Cork - a mickey mouse motorway bordered by field after blank field of half tended grass, interspersed by the odd, very very odd small factory that repackages product made on foreign shores. Our "economic miracle" was based on ludicrously inflated property prices, whereby a €27,000 Roscommon cottage inflated to €270,000, every gombeen became a blockie or a plasterer, and the Ifsc acepted every dodgy fiscal instrument known to mankind. We were like the lad who got himself €10,000 and thought he was a millionare, bought the big car, and realised he couldn't afford the petrol or tax. We lacked depth and breadth to our economy, and lost the run of ourselves. Now we are open to slagging, and we can blame nobody but ourselves.