Irish Glass Bottle site court case set to expose workings of DDDA

It is over a year since Bernard McNamara’s Donatex Limited initiated legal action against the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) over aspects of the purchase and development of the Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend in Dublin but it seems that at last the case is edging towards a hearing. Yesterday, according to the Irish [...]

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“A toxic bank by any other name is still a toxic bank” – the banks after the bailout

Somewhere in one of the secondary school poetry books is a couple of poems by Robert Frost – “Stopping by woods on a snowy evening” and “The Road not taken”. Other than an anthology by Seamus Heaney, the only other poetry book I paid money for as an adult was a Robert Frost collection and [...]

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EU approves NAMA Tranche 2 valuations

Whilst the folk down at Treasury Building steady themselves after yesterday’s announcements which will see their remit expanded by nearly 25% with Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland €0-20m loans, there is at least some welcome good news from the European Commission which has today approved the valuations of NAMA’s second tranche of loans [...]

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NAMA and the bailout

At the end of September 2010, there was a significant change to NAMA’s operation when our Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, decided to (a) accelerate the transfer of the remaining tranches to NAMA at the short term expense of not undertaking due diligence and granular valuation and (b) in respect of Allied Irish Banks and [...]

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They sent in poker players to play a game of chess

When the blanket bank guarantee was implemented (planned, legislation drafted, debated and voted upon in the Dail) in 2008, it might have taken a couple of years to collectively realise that we’d been kicked up the arse but yesterday’s announcements won’t need that long. The banking collapse in 2008 is set to cost us an [...]

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The bailout – details emerge

This post will be updated as more details are released from Brussels (1) €85bn bailout – €50bn for the day to day running of the country. €35bn for the banks. €10bn immediately and €25bn as a contingency for the banks. Headline external bailout – €67.5bn because €17.5bn coming from Irish resources (€12.5bn from NPRF and [...]

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If we are fully funded to the middle of next year, then why the rush to ensure the €85bn bailout terms are agreed before markets open tomorrow?

Remember that we are fully funded into the middle of next year and indeed should we choose to liquidate the National Pension Reserve Fund we will be funded into 2012 and should we sell off a few State assets, like the electricity and gas utility companies, the bus and rail transport companies or the airport [...]

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Bailout deal to be agreed tomorrow. Cui bono?

For a country where Latin disappeared from the practical curriculum in the 1970s, it is surprising that during this crisis that one Latin expression keeps appearing across all sections of society – “Cui bono” or who benefits? It is understandable that the nation should pose this question because much of the cost of the crisis, [...]

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26 months later and the bondholders are finally facing burden-sharing. But how much of our national wealth have we squandered along the way?

Consider the following facts: (1) In 2009 Anglo redeemed “certain subordinated liabilities” namely “€1,805m of Tier 1, €307m of Upper Tier 2 and €388m of Lower Tier 2 securities were bought back at prices of 27%, 37% and 55% of par respectively”. In other words Anglo bought back €2,571m of subordinated debt for €819m, paying [...]

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Outlook for Irish commercial property

Buried away on page 34 of the Four Year Plan (the so-called “National Recovery Plan”) published yesterday was a commitment which should freeze the hearts of those whose livelihoods depend on a recovery in the commercial property sector. As part of the government’s drive to return competitiveness to certain parts of the economy, it has [...]

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