The Official (State of the nation, enda kenny speech thread)

PRAF

K-9 wrote: »

I've heard plenty of calls for the EU and the ECB to act recently. It isn't ballsy, it's the norm now.



Well don't swallow the Cooper FF line then.




If you can provide back up for that we can discuss it further.



It wasn't in the ECB's remit AFAIK, which is why I'm wondering can you back up 1.



The alternative was Dept. of Finance advice.




Again links. How long did Lenihan bring the guarantee in for? A couple of months? It certainly wasn't a temporary little arrangement and blaming the ECB for that is a cop out.



Yep. The current part I've no problem with, the past part a bit more.

K-9, don't get me wrong, the ECB aren't all bad (just mostly bad!). They are providing long term liquidity support to our banks which would otherwise have no money to put in the ATMs. However, they are like a doctor that has us on life support but won't provide us with the life saving cure. Worse still, the disease we have is starting to infect the other Eurozone countries.

Until they start acting like a real central Bank (e.g. Bank of England, Fed Reserve etc.) Ireland and the rest of the Eurozone economy is knackered. Regardless of their official remit around controlling inflation, they should get a grip of this crisis.

I think they will start changing their approach soon. The quid pro quo will be Ireland and the other Eurozone countries agreeing to much higher levels of EU / ECB scrutiny of national budgets. Given the muppets we have in politics and the civil service in Ireland, that might not be a bad thing.

bamboozle

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

We'll we've got a speech from him, which is more than we ever got from Cowen.

And while I don't agree with the budgetary changes being made, I am glad that we F-I-N-A-L-L-Y have a plan and we are about to launch it! (3 years post crash!).

It's not the beginning of the end; it's the end of the beginning.
Let's all take 1 step forward. At last.

lets not forget whatever about it being a speech to the people of the nation it was also (and arguably more importantly) directed to the EU and wider world community that Ireland Inc in fully focussed on pulling its socks up and sorting our issues out.

limklad

irishh_bob wrote: »

is it me or is the tri colour a bit lifeless looking while the EU one has a more shiney glow ?

We cannot afford a new Flag , It represent our nation economic situation which is Lifeless on life support by the IMF and the EU, while the EU have money for us to spend on their flag. I am surprise the IMF do not have a Flag to fly as well behind Kenny.

The main reason for the EU Flag is that the Government is part of (not really functional one, ever since Merkel and Sarkozy have isolated everyone else and run the show themselves) of the Council of the EU, unlike the Dail and the President and Irish Courts, which only flies the Irish Flag only unless they are funded by the EU. In this case they should all be flying the Flag of the EU since we are bailed out by them. You also see that Merkel and Sarkozy fly the Flag as they are part of the Council of the EU. Well they do run the EU nowadays since we and the rest of the EU members and Commission do not have a backbone.


Even David Cameron Flies the EU Flag side by side with the British Flag.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-britain-nuclear-idUKTRE72F42A20110316


http://www.thelondoneveningpost.com/europe/cameron-asks-libyan-rebels-to-open-office-in-london/

anymore

kbannon wrote: »

Key points:
* "You are not responsible"
* PS costs to reduce by 2.2bn
* require an additional 1.6bn in taxes, mainly through indirect taxation
* long way to go
* budget will be tough (it has to be tough)
* jobs creation will be focus of budget
* by 2015 - deficit under control & growth in jobs
* lending schemes for businesses
* will protect most vulnerable in society
* will invest in crucial programmes, e.g. NCH & schools
* phones & allowances of former Taoisigh gone
* referendum to abolish seanad next year
* Ireland supports Europe


All in all, a good State of the Nation speech. Something we've needed for a while.

I caught a snatch of the speech on BBc radio and read the text in the paper this morning. Kenny was being his usual muppet like self and the speech is like umpteen other meanginless bits of guff we have heard. The fact that we know he has been intervening to ensure his friends and collageues continue to receive excessive salaries means Kenny has enusured that this speech has more than a passing resemblance to the notorious haughey ' We must tighten our belts' speech !
Will Kenny be heading to paris for his Chavret shirts ?

anymore

bamboozle wrote: »

lets not forget whatever about it being a speech to the people of the nation it was also (and arguably more importantly) directed to the EU and wider world community that Ireland Inc in fully focussed on pulling its socks up and sorting our issues out.

In other words kenny is ' Tugging the forelock' to our absentee landlords, this time in Bonn and Paris. remeber that history is said to repeat itself, first as tragedy and then as farce.

FreudianSlippers

Wow, the quality of more than half of the posts in this thread is absolutely shocking. If I wasn't banned I'd be convinced this was in After Hours. Can we actually discuss the speech or is everyone having too much fun cracking awful jokes and talking about the EU flag?

Sir Oxman

PRAF wrote: »

Agree with a lot of your sentiment. And if we lived in a perfect world, your solution might work. Unfortunately we don't.

Tell me, would you take the job and potentially put yourself up to lifelong media intrusion, public ridicule and anger, untold levels of stress for you and your family etc for 80k? It is a good salary but it isn't that good.

As an idealist, I'd prefer if these guys would work for free. As a pragmatist I don't really care if we give someone an extra 30k a year if he or she helps to fix a 20b problem.

The key thing is their performance on the job. If they do their job, and it is a monumentally tough job, they deserve the rewards

I'm in no way a work for free proponent.

It's classic distraction to say 'would you do this' for x amount of money when the employer has set a very high basic salary range 80-92k.
That's the rate - why is Conlon worth another average wage over and beyond that? It's known he's been very good for Kenny personally. Is that why?

Just what is wrong with an extra reward for him 3-4 years down the line if he has actually accomplished something in his role? In the meantime he is being paid a very generous salary. Is he going to worry about the ESB or gas bill in the meantime?
Is this so hard to understand and implement?

Kenny is faltering very badly when 9 months in he's saying do as I say, not as I do.

Sir Oxman

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

Wow, the quality of more than half of the posts in this thread is absolutely shocking. If I wasn't banned I'd be convinced this was in After Hours. Can we actually discuss the speech or is everyone having too much fun cracking awful jokes and talking about the EU flag?

Probably because there is nothing to discuss re: his speech.

PRAF

gambiaman wrote: »

I'm in no way a work for free proponent.

It's classic distraction to say 'would you do this' for x amount of money when the employer has set a very high basic salary range 80-92k.
That's the rate - why is Conlon worth another average wage over and beyond that? It's known he's been very good for Kenny personally. Is that why?

Just what is wrong with an extra reward for him 3-4 years down the line if he has actually accomplished something in his role? In the meantime he is being paid a very generous salary. Is he going to worry about the ESB or gas bill in the meantime?
Is this so hard to understand and implement?

Kenny is faltering very badly when 9 months in he's saying do as I say, not as I do.

You didn't answer my question - would you take the job and potentially put yourself up to lifelong media intrusion, public ridicule and anger, untold levels of stress for you and your family etc for 80k?

Remember, we are a nation of begruders, whingers and hurlers on the ditch. Even if you end unemployment, reduce the national debt to zero and win us the Euro Championships, we'd still find fault with you. We'd even go on Joe Duffy to complain that you were seen eating dinner in a fancy restaurant (probably at the taxpayers expense). Whoever is in the job will be fodder for the likes of Matt Cooper and Shane Ross to poke fun at for years to come.

I wouldn't go near a job like that for double the salary. Not to mention that I would be crap at the job as well!

Technocentral

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHCKXTBd52U

carveone

PRAF wrote: »

Remember, we are a nation of begruders, whingers and hurlers on the ditch.

Did you like the bit after the address where the continuity announcer actually apologised for the Taoiseach cutting into their fine programming? I think RTE is shoddy at the best of times but that takes the biscuit.

Whatever you think about Enda Kenny, this was the elected Leader of our country coming on air to address the people. RTE could have some bloody respect given that they haven't taken a penny hit on their free money stream...

anymore

PRAF wrote: »

You didn't answer my question - would you take the job and potentially put yourself up to lifelong media intrusion, public ridicule and anger, untold levels of stress for you and your family etc for 80k?

Remember, we are a nation of begruders, whingers and hurlers on the ditch. Even if you end unemployment, reduce the national debt to zero and win us the Euro Championships, we'd still find fault with you. We'd even go on Joe Duffy to complain that you were seen eating dinner in a fancy restaurant (probably at the taxpayers expense). Whoever is in the job will be fodder for the likes of Matt Cooper and Shane Ross to poke fun at for years to come.

I wouldn't go near a job like that for double the salary. Not to mention that I would be crap at the job as well!

I am sure you are being far too modest ! Though it may explain why Fg actually elected this man as a leader and why we have a teacher as Taoiseach and finance Minister. Perhaps Fg has simply dumbed down during the long years in opposition and that the membership truly believe Kenny is the best they have got.
Mind you, in his favour, Kenny has not have to arrange his own personal ' bank bailout like that towering intellectual and economic geniius ' Dr Garrter Fitzgerald. So maybe we are better off with the teacher ?

Godge

PRAF wrote: »

You didn't answer my question - would you take the job and potentially put yourself up to lifelong media intrusion, public ridicule and anger, untold levels of stress for you and your family etc for 80k?

Remember, we are a nation of begruders, whingers and hurlers on the ditch. Even if you end unemployment, reduce the national debt to zero and win us the Euro Championships, we'd still find fault with you. We'd even go on Joe Duffy to complain that you were seen eating dinner in a fancy restaurant (probably at the taxpayers expense). Whoever is in the job will be fodder for the likes of Matt Cooper and Shane Ross to poke fun at for years to come.

I wouldn't go near a job like that for double the salary. Not to mention that I would be crap at the job as well!

Agreed, it is a very tough job for the money involved. It is essentially 16 hours a day, seven days a week for about 48 weeks of the year.