Top Irish developer defends big builders role in economic collapse

A distinguished and successful real estate man once told me “obscene profits lead to ruinous competition,” an accepted axiom of business. Ireland DID HAVE a real estate bubble, much like Spain, the United States, and, for all I know, the Congo. Ireland’s real estate developers (to their credit, taking on risk, creating, and sustaining jobs – for a time) flooded the banks with project proposals, the banks flooded the developers with approvals and money (courtesy of Europe’s financial system being willing to flood Ireland with capital,) such that the axiom was forgotten (NOT remembered) or disregarded. Mr. Mellon deserves much commendation for his low income housing work in South Africa, and for his EXCELLENT proposal of a minimum 30-40 % write off of Ireland’s sovereign debt by Europe. His sanguine comments regarding Ireland’s, and, by implication, Taoiseach Kenny’s, leadership team, however, might not be the proper shift of blame…we now have a shift of assets. A TOXIC portfolio becomes considerably less TOXIC when it is discounted to international banks at more than half its loan value on the books. And now these new international investors, German banks and otherwise, own how much of Ireland?

Well Murph I disagree. It was very clear there was vast overbuilding combined with loose banking practices.

Smyrnian-you cannot be more wrong,read the history in Boomerang-It was the banks -Quinn who is in jail was a BANKER!

I know the type well. typical dodgy developer trying to justify his own view of the world. Overbuilding brought on the problem and precipitated the bank problems: among other things. He had it backwards.

wanting to come home to exploit natives as before - snakeoil fella.

He is dead right,proof -Read Michael Lewis's book Boomerang.One Irish bank with 6 branches ,lost 31 Billion Euros!