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With another tough budget bearing down on the country the Government could have done with a sliver of good news.
But hopes that there could be an easing of Ireland’s bailout terms similar to last week’s Greek style deal on debt has been ruled out by Germany and France. Portugal was also given a similar message.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said it would be a mistake for the two countries to demand the lower interest rates and longer repayment times that were granted to Greece .
Joining Pat were Fine Gael spokesman Paschal Donohoe (vice chair of European Affairs Committee) and Fianna Fail Finance spokesman Michael McGrath.
We’re in final countown mode now until tomorrow at 2.30pm when minister Michael Noonan stands up in the Dail and delivers Budget 2013. The extraordinary level of leaking over the past few days means that the minister’s cough has been significantly softened. Despite numerous ministers expressing their anger last year at the leaking of budget 2012 they haven’t managed to stop the advanced details coming out this time around either. And in effect the Government seems to have done a great job in getting the bad news out there early. But, despite how detailed or well sourced the information is we won’t actually know what lies ahead for our wallets next year, until the minister takes to his feet tomorrow.
Joining Pat to add to the speculation were Jill Kerby, Personal Finance columnist with the Sunday Times; Pat Mahon, tax partner, Price Waterhouse Coopers; Jerry Moriarty, CEO, Irish Association of Pension Funds and Kathleen O’Neill, director of the Community Welfare centre, Kilbarrack, Dublin.
The west Limerick town of Rathkeale will be the only urban area of the country with a 24-hour-a-day garda patrol on duty over the Christmas period.
The Garda presence has been deemed necessary to help cope with an influx of thousands of Travellers from across Europe who will congregate to celebrate the festivities.
In addition to extra policing, the HSE will also set up a special clinic to provide triage facilities and medical support in the town.
Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent with The Irish Examiner had the story.
Since copyright restrictions on his work ended at the beginning of this year there has been steady stream of projects re-looking at the great writer’s work. Well the Abbey Theatre gets in on the act next week when Frank McGuinness’ version of Joyce’s short story, The Dead opens. It stars Derbhle Crotty as Gretta Conway and Stanley Townsend as her husband Gabriel, with Rosaleen Linehan, Anita Reeves and Lorcan Cranach among others in the cast. The Dead is directed by former Abbey Artistic Director now director of the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Joe Dowling, and he joined Pat in studio.
It’s beginning to look a lot like that time of year that can have many people in a state of panic, trying to think of gift ideas for family and friends.
For the clueless out there, one of the easier options is to make a beeline for an electronic shop, to browse the devices that are becoming ever smaller, but ever more impressive in terms of what they can do.
Adrian Weckler is the Digital and Technology Editor with The Sunday Business Post and he joined Pat this morning.
In the High Court in Dublin this morning a 59 year old woman will challenge Ireland’s prohibition on assisted suicide. Marie Fleming will argue that Ireland’s 1993 law is unconstitutional because it discriminates against severely disabled individuals. Valerie Cox was at the Court.
Shashank Joshi of The Royal United Services Institute.
