Thank You! I am sick of the media and politicians calling them “bailouts”. Call them programs, high interest loans, fecking call them cauliflowers if ya want, but stop calling them bailouts, cause they just aren’t!

Absolutely spot on you are!

So if we didn’t get a bailout, things would just be grand would they…..

David, are you ever going to actually answer one of my questions to you or just pop your sheep gael ceann in everywhere making stupid immature remarks about Irelands situation and the effect it has on peoples lives, when you clearly haven’t lived one single day in real life! When you get out of college and work for a few years and have to support a family and pay a mortgage and put food on the table, maybe then you can act a bit smug but until then, pipe down child!

Higgins you are a Fine Gael muppet. You and that Party of Snake Oil Salesmen that you follow are putting the nails in Irelands Coffin. 41 thumbs down and counting.

Your 100% right Diarmaid
David only cares about Fine Gael’s reputation then the people of this country,
If Fine Gael were the Opposition party,David would say the complete opposite.

But its a great, hip, made up buzzword. Just like the way the fiscal stability facility will give haircuts to bondholders and result in economic gr… Oh jaysus, I have to stop listening to FG’s propeganda machine

Question for David Higgins if we had not bailed out the banks under the instructions of the ECB would we be in the situation we are now in?

@ Kerry – yes, we’d most likely still have had to be bailed out

If I may.

Yes, we would. But not to the same extent, in terms of market confidence, or indebtedness. The banks represent about a quarter of our debt, and some of them had to be supported.

That aside, you’re all right-what we’re getting should never be called a bailout, it is a profit making loan. The negative connotations of the term “bailout” disgust me, whenever I hear a senior politician who should know better, put that term out into the ether.

And David, please. You’re bloody everywhere. Wind your neck in and think about what you’re saying. You;re doing more harm than good.

Gagsy I take it your aware of the fact we were only priced out of the market once we bailed out the banks?

Kerry, I don’t think the timing was all that relevant – scenario B – same massive budget deficit but now in a country without a functioning banking system. Bail-out-city all the way. Even if they had let Anglo and INBS go (which they should), we were still goosed.nWhen you can’t get money you need anywhere, and someone steps in to give it to you, I think it’s probably fair enough to call that a bail-out.

It’s a bailout. A decade of Fianna Fail led incompetence resulted in a situation where by 2007, a third of our revenue came from tax receipts from our property boom. When that bust, the country went under. Surprise, surprise! To avoid calamity, we got a bailout from our international friends and partners.

I’ll stop saying bailout when the far left stops saying ‘sovereignty’

Ah come on, arms? You want that? nNone of this is good, granted. It will pass though

Never said I wanted it Dave, far from it, I said I can see it happening though. Have a look at the negative German sentiment rising in Spain and Greece, burning of flags, pics of Merkel in front of swastika etc. As Germany insists on enforcing it’s will and policies illegally on other sovereign nations, it will only take a small group of disgruntled ppl with a preference for violence!

Diarmaid, you might not want it to happen but you sure are giving people some ideas about what to do? Don’t you think? You are also being a bit of a ranter yourself.
Cue the red thumbs

@ Duarmaid : you speak about anti-German feeling rising in other countries? Do you think this is good? Do you want to create anti-German feelings in Ireland through a forum like this? What profit do you earn from doing this? The anti-German feelings do not come from the majority, it is being pushed out by a small amount of vocal people, for either hatred or gain.

I have never stated anything but that I am a ranter, I do however rant from an honest place, where I am sick of watching this country being treated like a toilet! I am passionate about my country and my fellow countrymen, so criticise me for it if you wish, but I would never stop for being criticised. The only people on here I criticise is people that lie blatantly or refuse to use their own minds. You’re more than entitled to call me a keyboard warrior or annoying or wrong or whatever takes your fancy, I can only try to assure you I am none of those things!

You are a very negative ranter though Diarmuid, nAnd you can’t blame the whole German nation for our woes. You can blame merkel all you like though, just not all the German people -

@Klaus The anti German sentiment is coming from a gross lack of respect being offered to countries that find themselves in distress. Don’t blame me for the smug politicians in the Bundestag feeling they somehow have the right to discuss our nations affairs cause they save a few bob a year. Don’t blame me for Germany owing billions in unpaid World War 2 reparation money to countries like Greece for example. Don’t blame me because citizens around Europe are disgusted at the fact that their own ppl are starving and committing suicide because of economic woes which Germany is ensuring are prolonged to keep a weak euro and inflation low. Don’t blame me because the German leader has self elected herself to the leader of over 20 other states! Don’t blame me that the Irish ppl quite rightly feel aggrieved at having to pay private debt from failed Irish banks back to equally wreckless German banks under threat from Germany and then are accused of having caused it all ourselves by this same arrogant smug nation who has used up more than there fair share of good will, begging bowls and forgiveness just last century, but have somehow forgotten this from the height at which they now stand on board their high horse. No Klaus, don’t accuse me of any hidden agenda, just a regular Irish citizen, pretty sick of Germany and their petulance!

You speak as someone who wants a war. Not a good thing. You want an enemy but you do not have one, in reality. The evil Germans. Very easy when talking to angry unhappy Irish people. But it’s not true, it’s only a story to hang your anger on.

Of course a rise in Anti German feeling is not good Klaus, nobody wants this, but your chancellor and especially your media need to be more honest with the German public and tell them what is really going on in Europe and that in fact it is the core area banking system being bailed out by the Periphery!!!

Klaus it proves how little you know about the situation when you think this is just “my anger”. You need to be a bit more honest with yourself and realise what crap your media and politicians are getting up to! And please don’t dare accuse me of inventing an enemy cause I don’t like seeing my country and childrens future getting trampled on by one woman who has self appointed herself as the head of this and other EU countries! Just try to put your country in our shoes. Your parliament knows details about this country and has open discussions about them before we even do for Christ sake!

Diarmaid let me quote you “indulge in twitter rants on occasion” so you admit to being a ranter?

Declan, if you’d taken the time spent preparing that smug little line and looking at my twitter profile, to actually read my above comments, you would have seen that I admitted that and explained it all in the above comments about an hour ago. Keep up at least will ya!

I am happy with Angela Merkel as much as you are happy with Enda Kenny. I control her decisions as much as you control his decisions. Merkel tested her austerity strategy on the German people first. No pension at 65 years. No minimum wage. I am not happy and rich in 2012, I am unsafe and poor. Do not blame the evil Germans, please blame your politicians. You chose them and you gave them your power. Their work is to protect you. It is not only Ireland that is broken, it is all Europe. In five years we will all be in the dirt.

@klaus What about all the other German politicians in the Bundestag reading documents on our nations future that we don’t even know about, what about the German media demeaning Greece and Ireland every chance they get, what about presidents of German soccer players telling the German press that Germany is feeding the Spanish poor and their children and how he felt no need to prop up their soccer league (a grossly infactual and demeaning comment). So Klaus, I am not looking for an enemy, I am a peaceful person, I don’t think for a second the German ppl are responsible for this countries woes and harsh treatment, however, any soundings coming from Germany are constantly negative and demeaning and until that changes and someone in your country stands up to that attitude I will continue to reference Germany in my analysis!

*presidents of soccer clubs

I do not think it is the fault of German politicians that have these documents. This is in order. An article on this website explains this. The blame is on the Irish politicians, they did not give this information to the Irish people directly. Please blame German people for all problems. I hope that others will know that you are incorrect.

Sorry Klaus, but your media are doing a great job of blaming “profligacy” of other countries for the crisis, and most people in Germany seem to be believing it. I still hear about how we need to see things from the German point of you, how you are sick of having to bail us reckless countries out. Do you even realise there that your own banks caused the problem??

It is not my banks. It was not asked to the meeting. What German people did you talk to that say that this is all overspending of other countries? No-one visits me and my neighbours to ask me questions about Irish people. Do you believe TV and media vox pop?

To everyone involved in this- Diarmaid, Klaus etc. don’t fall into the trap of division, We need solidarity- we’re all citizens of the world, the 99% or whatever you wanna call it, fighting against a very small minority in our respective countries. Merkel, Kenny, Obama, Monti are all representatives of the bankers, the merger of corporation and state,which by definition is fascism.We don’t have a representative democracy, therefore citizens can’t be held accountable for their governments crimes. Violence is not even an option, it doesn’t work, intellectual opposition must be used. Example- lets stop voting for the lesser if two evils, if less than 40% of the population votes during a general election the election is illegitimate and thus null and void. Them direct democracy comes in to play. You wanna bail out the banks? Let the people vote. Wanna start an economic war with Iran? Let the people vote on issues not corporate representatives. I believe both of you are on the same par politically, but are making the mistake of letting sovereign decisions get in the way. There is no such thing as sovereign nations all governments collectively form a mafia, and as of late i’m becoming more inclined to believe this new world order conspiracy. We’re all on the same boat here and we can only bring about change if we realise that it’s not Italy and Spain or Germany and Ireland, it’s us the people and them the elite.

well put Daniel.

Went out last week after thinking about what is happening to our country. Have to admit I’ve borrowed this idea from the Middle East but anyway I bought myself a ruck sack and a cheap pair of shoes. I now carry the rucksack which has the cheap shoes in it at all times. If I come across ANY Irish mainstream politician I’ll open my ruck sack and deliver the shoes. Not with the intention of physically hurting them but hopefully getting the message across that they are all total failures. Hopefully others will do the same. The problem is the parties we have not the system.

It goes back to the bondholders in europe.

Can we perhaps shred the paperwork like we’ve been told what happened a certain document back in 2008.

Can i get a loan of a fiver please, or a bailout which ever works for you guys I’m not fussy!!

here here…did the boys from the troika not actually say today…quote..”our public servants are too highly paid”…or smthng like that…I don’t them to tell me that. Explain…clerical officers in that wonderful organisation called FAS earning ?38k a year and thats a FACT..and some don’t have leaving certs…FACT..why??? Does the troika know that?

James they do know that. It’s the main reason we cannot get a deal on the bank debt. The troika know we need to cut in other areas first

James, I am far less concerned by someone earning 38k, than I am by people creaming the system on plus 150k with lavish expenses and allowances, rampant sickness which in many cases is orchestrated, and far too many layers and organisations of bureacracy. Peeps on 38 grand a year are not the enemy!