O'keefe :"we are playing poker with these people" re: IMF

skelliser

Enterprise Minister Batt O'Keefe speaking earlier tonight at Dromoland said talks with EU and IMF were like a poker game.

O'Keefe told the audience that "we are playing poker with these people and we are waiting to see their hand."

Speaking at the Silicon Valley Comes to Ireland event in Dromoland Castle last night, Minister for Enterprise Batt O'Keeffe described the situation as being akin to a poker game.

"We've got to play poker over the next couple of days to see what cards these people have to play, what exactly they have in mind. We would like to see the colour of their money," Mr O'Keeffe said referring to any offers of financial assistance from the ECB or IMF.

He also said the Government "almost had" European Commission approval for the outline of its four-year plan which would be finalised in the coming days.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2010/1118/1224283628311.html


Im sorry minister but the future of our country is not a "poker game"

Disgraceful comments.
And he said it in front of people who might be considering investing in our country. Would you invest in a country which describes its current crisis as a poker game! would you ****!

The sooner Fianna Fail are out the better. They are destroying this country day by day!

P. Breathnach

skelliser wrote: »

... Im sorry minister but the future of our country is not a "poker game"...

Yes, it is. The stakes are high, but we are sitting at the table with some of the most serious gamblers on the planet.

Wolfe Tone

Bring back Bertie, he knows a thing or two about gambling.

Seriously though, as a country(happy Liam?) many of us gambled....and lost.

alang184

Just like Lenihan was "not showing our hand" with the Anglo plans - went to Brussels with 2 plans, and came back with a 3rd.

oppenheimer1

skelliser wrote: »

Im sorry minister but the future of our country is not a "poker game"

It is and its all about who will blink first and the odds are on the EU at the moment unless the markets calm down. The worst thing that could possibly happen is that we convince them we don't need help now and they walk off with their money and goes quiet for a while... then all blows up again when the NTMA schedule their next auction. We'd have no aces left to play then. The only chance we have of extracting a good deal is now.

keane2097

Jesus people will moan about absolutely anything in this country.

It's a perfectly valid analogy.

virmilitaris

keane2097 wrote: »

Jesus people will moan about absolutely anything in this country.

It's a perfectly valid analogy.

And that's the problem. It shouldn't be a game of poker.

We're all in with a pair of 2's and the wallet is empty ... and it's not our money to begin with. We borrowed it off Hans and he's not impressed.

can we buy back in if we lose?

virmilitaris

Deleted User wrote: »

can we buy back in if we lose?

"If" ? :pac:

Of course! But Hans's interest rates are going up all the time.