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Ireland Calling
John Spain is a veteran Irish journalist. He worked for many year for the Irish Press, and currently, he is the books editor of the Irish Independent.
Ireland Calling
Posted by JohnSpain at 5/7/2009 6:00 PM EDT
Despite appeals from the Irish government to commentators to minimize negativity in the international media about the Irish economy, we are going to tell the truth here.
The painful truth is that Ireland is now suffering the worst recession of any country in the developed world since the 1930s. That devastating ... Read More »
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Posted by JohnSpain at 5/4/2009 12:31 PM EDT
Here we are facing the biggest challenge ever to the Irish economy, and through that the Irish State, and what does the government do?  Last week, as an example to us all that cutbacks are needed at every level, the number of junior ministers was reduced from 20 to 15.  The total saving to the state, including ... Read More »
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Posted by JohnSpain at 4/23/2009 11:27 AM EDT
You will be seeing a lot more young Irish over there this year and next year as the decline in the Irish economy gathers pace.   Unemployment is relentlessly growing.  In fact you could say it's the only growth industry we have here right now. I know there has been some talk recently about a few green shoots of ... Read More »
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Posted by JohnSpain at 4/15/2009 11:46 AM EDT
Almost buried by the coverage of the draconian emergency budget in Ireland last week was the announcement by the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan that he was setting up a so-called Bad Bank.   He's not calling it that, of course. It's being called the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), which sounds a whole ... Read More »
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Posted by JohnSpain at 4/8/2009 8:25 AM EDT
The size of the task facing Finance Minister Brian Lenihan this Tuesday was immense. The Irish economy is in real trouble, with tax revenue collapsing and state spending still up around the astronomical level it reached during our phony boom. 
The result is a yawning budget deficit that is getting worse by ... Read More »
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Posted by JohnSpain at 4/1/2009 8:53 AM EDT
You can't understand how Ireland went from boom to bust so fast? Well, settle back, folks, and I'll tell you a story, a true story. And I know it's true because this story happened to me. Over the past three weeks, I have been refurbishing a small three bedroom house near my own home. I bought the little house about 15 ... Read More »
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Posted by JohnSpain at 3/26/2009 9:50 AM EDT
President George W. Bush and his wife Laura visited an integrated primary school in Belfast during his trip to the North last year This week the Irish government is finalizing its plans to slash state spending and increase taxes to stop the country going bankrupt.  In a series of lengthy cabinet meetings, Taoiseach ... Read More »
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Posted by JohnSpain at 3/18/2009 2:42 PM EDT
Youths in hoodies, with covered faces, hurling rocks at the security forces. It must be Gaza or somewhere similar. 
But no, it’s Northern Ireland. 
Yes, we’re back to that again.  It’s not widespread, of course. In fact it’s just an isolated incident.
But it’s an ... Read More »
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Posted by JohnSpain at 3/18/2009 2:36 PM EDT
Writing about the economic crisis in Ireland these days is like trying to catch a falling knife.  Just when you think you’ve grasped it, it slices through your hand and plunges even further downwards. 
In my last column in the Irish Voice I discussed Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian ... Read More »
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