IT'S OVER FOR IRELAND

all pretty inevitable.........sooner they come in the better

It's quite scary at this stage whats happening.

Sales of vaseline are going to soar prior to Dec 7th imo

I blame the smoking ban. All was going well till that came in then it was all downhill after that.

Ireland was preparing to succumb to an inevitable rescue of its stricken banking system today, as holders of the crisis-hit nation's debt were dealt a fresh blow.

But Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan pledged to hang on to the country's super-low corporation tax regime which has attracted a host of British businesses come what may, calling it “safe” and “crucial to economic growth”.

A team from the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank has arrived in Dublin to work on a potential bailout and Lenihan said there was a “common determination” to tackle the nation's plight.

He claimed support from the EU for his €15 billion (£12.7 billion) deficit-slashing plans, but warned that the country's crippled banking system needed “further support”.

Lenihan said: “What may be required may not in fact be an actual transfer of money now but demonstration of how much money can be made available if further difficulties materialise.”

He added: “There is no question of loading onto the Irish sovereign some kind of unspecified burden. That is why the government took great care not to make a formal application at this stage but to engage in intensive discussions to see exactly what the options are.”



Ireland has said the cost of bank support has risen to almost €50 billion, pushing the deficit to an eye-watering 32% of GDP this year.

Holders of Irish debt were meanwhile asked to stump up more cash to ward off the risk of a default by Europe's biggest clearing house, LCH.Clearnet. It slapped a margin call on holders of the beleaguered nation's debt for the second time in less than a week today.

The clearing house, whose clients include more than 50 major banks across Europe, wants customers to put up 30% of their net exposure to Irish bonds by Friday.

It stunned the market by raising margins 15% six days ago, heightening fears among international investors over a possible default. Investors in other sovereign debt put up average margins of around 5%.

LCH.Clearnet acted after a week of huge turbulence for Irish bonds, which have seen yields rise against its benchmark basket of German, French and Dutch debt.

Ireland's cost of borrowing ticked higher to 8.53% today while the price of insuring against an Irish default widened by 25 basis points to 5.45%, financial information firm Markit said.

A bailout package is likely to be assembled rapidly, according to EU officials. “Is it six months or a few days away? I'd say it's closer to days,” said French finance minister Christine Lagarde.

Klaus Regling, chief of the European stability fund, said the EU could raise the money needed — thought to be about €80 billion — in five to eight working days.

LCH's head of fixed income John Burke said the margin call had been made under its new risk rules which were put in place last month and said that the firm will continue to “monitor the situation”.

Lloyds TSB bond analyst David Page said of the looming financial support to Ireland: “The straws are not just blowing in the wind, they are being blown over by a hurricane. The markets are just waiting to see what comes out now.”

Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid added: “Its still possible the market may have to force the last part of this even if the groundwork is seemingly being laid for an aid package.”

The head of the IMF warned today that Germany's "miracle" economic recovery without a wider improvement across Europe.

"Things may be going well in Germany at the moment. But the German economy depends on the purchasing power of people in other EU countries," said Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

"As long as the economic recovery only gains pace there slowly, the German economic miracle won't last all that long," he said, adding that he did not expect an EU-wide upturn in the coming year

i don;t think its that scary. we're skint, and the monetary union we're part of is going to give us cash. in return we will have to make the cuts that McCarthy report said we should have made to begin with. slightly embarrasing for our emicile politicians that now have to accept that property is not going to rise to get them out of a corner.

as it happens I also blame the smoking ban.

bailing out the banks worked a treat.

we turned the corner...straight into a wall.

Dobbo giving the BIFFO plenty of it on the News.

The fact that not everyone in "OR" TE is a FF'er represents an extraordinary event on the google box for SJN

why havent yous overthrown the govt there yet? what theyve done would make a 3rd world dictator blush.

nah  tony's still  making millions mate

Thank you England what great neighbours you are. What would we do only for you.

George Osborne today said Britain “stands ready” to give billions of pounds in loans or guarantees to stabilise the crisis-hit Irish economy.

Arriving at European talks, the Chancellor signalled his willingness to help as details emerged of plans to avoid the humiliation of a full-scale EU bail-out by offering loans from the UK and other sources.

“We're going to do what is in Britain's national interest,” he said. “Ireland is our closest neighbour, and it's in Britain's national interest that the Irish economy is successful and we have a stable banking system. So Britain stands ready to support Ireland in the steps that it needs to take to bring about that stability.”

EU economic commissioner Olli Rehn confirmed this afternoon that British help for Ireland was on the table.

“That is under discussion and it is natural because the United Kingdom and UK banks have a very significant exposure in Ireland,” he said. A summit statement later promised “determined and co-ordinated action” to safeguard the eurozone if needed.

In the Commons, Treasury minister Mark Hoban faced a revolt by Conservative MPs angry that UK taxpayers could end up paying for another country's mistakes. Tory MP Peter Bone questioned whether it was acceptable to commit more money to the EU at a time of austerity at home.

Today's summit was overshadowed by fears that the boom-to-bust Irish economy could trigger a wider crisis for the 16 single currency countries.

Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan fuelled expectations of a deal by promising “decisive measures”. He said: “Ireland is now engaging in an intensive, and disclosed, engagement in relation to the problems in the banking sector.”

German leader Angela Merkel is leading attempts to pressure the Irish into accepting an EU bail-out package that she argues is needed to secure stability for other countries with high debts, particularly Spain and Portugal. However, in return, Mrs Merkel is likely to demand a rise in Irish corporation taxes, which Germany complains have undercut rivals.

Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood called it “a gripping struggle for power between the EU and one of the smaller member states”, and urged Mr Osborne to snub Mrs Merkel's plan. “If Ireland does not wish to take any EU money, the UK should be Ireland's ally,” said Mr Redwood. “The stated Irish wish to see their own way through their own deficit problem is wholly admirable.”

A British Treasury spokesman refused to confirm or deny that a compromise was being drawn up involving UK loans worth billions of pounds. He said: “There has been no application from Ireland and we are not speculating on the situation.”

The 16 eurozone ministers agreed last night that a team of EU and International Monetary Fund officials will visit Ireland to discuss the problems. A package of British bilateral loans could help Ireland weather the storm without its leaders feeling they have lost sovereignty.

Investors today steered away from bonds issued by Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy in favour of German issues.

I think people are way off the mark with the smoking ban, the destruction of the economy is much more likely to be linked to the head shops. This time next year there will be gangs of delinquent scangers roaming the country in pick up trucks armed with sawn off shotguns looking to eat your children.

One thing that has been kept very quiet over the last few days is the promise of the Chinese government to buy Irish bonds when they next come up for sale. Could the intense pressure bearing down on Ireland be an effort at heading off this particular investor. They already have a nice base in Athlone.

We are saved :)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fianna-Fail-Nua/118633968199087?v=wall#!/pages/Fianna-Fail-Nua/118633968199087?v=wall.

The soliders will not go away peacefully