Can you believe that FF paid €7 million Euro to Merrill Lynch for 'consultancy'?

DublinWriter

Around about this time last year, FF paid €7 million to Merrill Lynch to devise a report on what to do with the failing banks.

To add insult to injury, they decided to ignore Merrill Lynch's advice and bail out Anglo-Irish bank. Merrill Lynch themselves were later subsumed into Bank of America after their own financial trouble.

ninty9er

Last time I got a report from HQ Fianna Fáil didn't have any money, let alone €7 million.

Did the government ignore the report or just not follow your preferred option? If a consultant gives you only one option, they aren't that good at their job.

Would you like me to poke any more holes in your rant?

Liam Byrne

ninty9er wrote: »

Last time I got a report from HQ Fianna Fáil didn't have any money, let alone €7 million.

You know what the OP meant; FF paid €7 million of OUR money.

If FF had used their own money, then fair enough.

Of course, judging by Calleley & O'Donoghue, they all reckon our hard-earned taxes are theirs to do with as they please. :mad:

Elevator

yes I can believe it

sure they weren't the only advisors paid big money for their advice

our government is being advised by the very people who created the Market bubble and make no mistake there's not one decision being made by our government that isn't very carefully and coldly pieced together and implemented!!

Victor

Sod the €7m, its ignoring the advice and the next €70bn are the problems.

Nehaxak

Would it not be better that we just elect the consultants instead of the politicians ? Seeing as how the politicians seem to spend all of our money getting other people to make decisions and policy for them anyway.

kippy

Nehaxak wrote: »

Would it not be better that we just elect the consultants instead of the politicians ? Seeing as how the politicians seem to spend all of our money getting other people to make decisions and policy for them anyway.

Thats a partly fair point.
I sometimes laugh when I hear politicians tell us about healthcare and the economy amoung other things, including the "Smart Economy".
These guys are mainly Teachers, Solicitors, Publicans and indeed auctioneers......
They havent the slightest about what is involved in running a country but they are damn good at politics, amassing votes and apeasing the voters with rhetoric and local politics.

That said, a lot of what comes out of the consultants mouths is self serving, expensive tripe also, not sure whether I'd like them to be running the place either.
The problems we have now, as mentioned above, all the guys pulling the strings at NAMA are the very people who made the money in the "Boom". Making more money off the back of it now.

mikemac

DublinWriter wrote: »

Around about this time last year, FF paid €7 million to Merrill Lynch to devise a report on what to do with the failing banks.

Tens of billions at stake.
So 7 million euro could have been money well spent if it was the correct advice and it was followed.
Realy it's very, very little money for the problem the consultants were asked to examine and get a solution.

If it was ignored afterwards is a different story

Jaysoose

Lets be honest guys it was money wasted as the goverment obviously didnt understand the advice being given as proved by Frank Faheys performance with Peter Matthews completely exposing the goverments lack of understanding.

As far as im concerned if merrill lynch didnt explain it in simple enough terms for the people making the decision to understand then it was a complete waste of money.

They dont understand the simplest aspects of the NAMA proposal so Merrill Lynch failed miserably yet still invoiced for 7 million and some pencil pusher approved the payment.

Jaysoose

feelingstressed wrote: »

Tens of billions at stake.
So 7 million euro could have been money well spent if it was the correct advice and it was followed.
Realy it's very, very little money for the problem the consultants were asked to examine and get a solution.

If it was ignored afterwards is a different story

It wasnt ignored they didnt understand it.

ninty9er

Jaysoose wrote: »

Lets be honest guys it was money wasted as the goverment obviously didnt understand the advice being given as proved by Frank Faheys performance with Peter Matthews completely exposing the goverments lack of understanding.

He's not in Cabinet, so realistically a public performance by him is nothing to go by. It doesn't matter because he's not the one making the decisions, or even influencing them for the most part.

Jaysoose

ninty9er wrote: »

He's not in Cabinet, so realistically a public performance by him is nothing to go by. It doesn't matter because he's not the one making the decisions, or even influencing them for the most part.

It is something to go by as he is the loudest voice... and the nodding heads around him as he started talking out his hole was a worry.

Would the information not have filtered down to these guys from the top? that says to me that they are all reading from the same report and none of them have the first clue what nama acually does unfortunately franky boy hangs in the backwaters and doesnt know when to shut his uneducated mug so this will slide.

galwayrush

This current shower in power will probably spend a few million more on puting a positive spin on the sorry mess.