$65 billion final price tag for Celtic Tiger binge

Ireland faces harsh budget cuts for years

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Irish Daily Star, front page today

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Ireland will need to find $65 billion to repay all the bank debt outstanding the Irish government has stated.

After months of speculation the final figure has finally been arrived at. It will mean that Irish taxpayers face a massive bill well into the future to pay off the Celtic Tiger binge.

The final figure includes $40 billion for Anglo Irish Bank, a figure that may go higher, as well as $9 billion for Allied Irish Bank which has now effectively been nationalised, $5 billion for Bank fo Ireland and up to$8 billion for two building societies.

The latest figures reflect the state’s fourth effort to make the Irish banking system solvent. The government now says they will publish a four-year-plan showing how they will stabilize the finances of Ireland.

It is believed that savage spending cuts in the next budget totalling as much as $7 billion will be enforced to bring the national debt figure down.

Ireland’s travails have made front page headlines across Europe, including in the Financial Times which led with the headlines that “ Irish Face 50 billion Euro Bank Rescue” which they explained was a third of gross national product.

In its editorial the Financial Times  stated “ By finally allowing the public an inkling of the depth of the pit that is Anglo Irish Bank the Uhrish government has taken a step--albeit a small one-- towards solving Ireland’s banking crisis.”

The economic loss is at last  being accounted for .The political irresponsibility that made it possible has yet to face its reckoning.” the editorial concluded.

The Irish Times editorial stated  that “The final bill had come in” for Ireland’s extravagance.

The reaction from the Irish tabloids was more pungent. The Daily Star wrote “Ireland R.I.P”  on a tombstone across its front page.
 
 

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