Economist frightened and surprised by banks behaviour

The head of Bank of Ireland, Richie Boucher, gave two fingers to the Oireachtas Finance Committee yesterday.

Bankers have been giving the two fingers to politicians and by extension to the people of Ireland for decades with no fear whatsoever that they will be brought to account.

For decades, politicians have been ‘outraged’ by the arrogant and greedy behaviour of bankers but for some odd reason never seem to get around to actually doing anything about the situation.

And it’s not just politicians who seem to be completely powerless in the face of the all powerful banks.

Take Tony Foley for example. Mr. Foley is a seasoned academic; he’s a senior lecturer in economics, no less, at DCU.

But despite his academic credentials, position and experience Mr. Foley effectively admits that he has no idea what’s going on when it comes to bankers in Ireland.

Not only that but Mr. Foley is also frightened, very worried and greatly surprised by the antics of Irish bankers.

Here’s some of what he had to say on The Late Debate (1 Nov) the other night.

AIB is 99% owned by the Government. It frightens me that AIB are talking about raising interest rates by about five or six percent, that they would have to increase their margins hoping to offer investors a return of about 8 to 12% in equity.

And the thing that surprised me greatly was, this is a government owned bank.

Has the Government told them that this is the target equity requirement?

They talked about talking to investors; I didn’t know the Government told them to talk to investors.

They were talking of maybe in two years investors might be willing to put money in.

I wasn’t aware there was a timetable for re-privatisation of AIB.

What do you think is going on Mr. Foley was asked.

I think they’re forgetting that they’re owned by the state and I think they’re behaving as private sector banks.

We don’t want investors now because the Government owns the equity. We want the bank to operate on behalf of the public.

Later on we might be looking for investors if we want to sell them so I don’t even know why they’re talking to investors right now.

As my good deed for the day I’m going to enlighten Mr. Foley, I’m going to try and relieve him of some of that fear, worry and surprise under which he is clearly labouring.

The state does not own AIB; it’s all pretence.

AIB and the State are marking time in the hope that the crisis will work itself out.

The state is marking time in the (vain) hope that AIB and the economy will somehow recover.

When (if) that happens the pretence that the people own the bank can be quietly dropped.

AIB will then return to what it does best, exploiting and ripping off its customers.

The billions owed by the bank, will of course, remain off the books and on the shoulders of citizens for decades to come.

AIB is also marking time until things settle down. In the meantime it’s continuing to operate, with the full backing of the political and administrative system, as a private sector bank.

This is the part that puzzles Mr. Foley and many other ‘experts’.

They simply cannot accept a brutal reality that has been obvious for many decades.

The state/administrative/political system supports the banks no matter what they do. We saw it with the Dirt scandal, with Ansbacher, with NIB, and endless other scandals.

It’s crucial to understand that state authorities knew about and in some cases actively supported these activities as they were happening.

It’s also crucial to understand that white-collar crime is not actually a crime in Ireland; it’s an intrinsic, well-established aspect of the governing process.

That’s why politicians, bankers and other people of power and influence are, and never will be, brought to account.

The situation will only change when enough people realise that our corrupt political/administrative system does not act in the interests of Ireland and its people.

Copy to:
Tony Foley

Pat Rabbitte: The banker's defender

Pat Rabbitte responded as follows when asked about the disgustingly high salary (About €800,000) paid to the chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, Mike Aynsley (Newstalk).

Rabbittee: well, you know, you could write a whole book about why it is that bankers regard themselves as the masters of the universe…this bank pretty much brought down the country.

I can’t make any stab at explaining it to the man or woman on the street why it is that people at the top of the financial ladder think that they’re entitled to salaries of that order.

But, (here’s the but) I have to say, you know, you have to attract talent against competition in the market place where top people in banking are still commanding salaries that the man or woman in the street just can’t accept.

Ah, god be with the days when Rabbitte was a socialist, a man who stood with the ordinary man and woman in the street, or at least pretended to.

Nowadays he dismisses them with contempt as he rushes to defend the greedy bankers.

If only he was a minister with some power – oh wait, he is.

Here’s what he thinks of all those angry people struggling to pay their mortgages while the bankers pay themselves lotto type salaries.

Rabbitte: well these tensions are not confined to Ireland…it is a fragile and dangerous situation, there is huge anger out there.

But anger is not a policy. Anger won’t cause this economy to recover and whether we like it or not banks are essential to the recovery.

This idea that anger is not a policy is the stupidest, most patronising, most arrogant response that any politician can make.

Anger IS a policy. Anger, for example, lies at the heart of the justice system. When humans see/experience injustice they get angry and demand retribution, they demand justice.

Anger is the evolutionary trigger that allows/forces humans to respond to harm done to themselves or to others.

When anger is absent or misdirected the corrupt become rich and powerful.

So why do Irish people quietly listen to such patronising bullshit from the likes of politicians like Rabbitte?

I think it’s because Irish people are, for the most part, politically ignorant. They don’t fully understand what real democracy is, they seem to believe that power comes from the top down rather than from the bottom up.

For most Irish citizens democracy is simply a matter of voting for the local gangster in return for a few crumbs from his heavily laden table.

We can only hope that the current crisis will trigger an awakening in the Irish people that will result in the whole rotten system being swept away forever.

When should the Gardai be called in – Well, it depends

What kind of suspicious incident needs to happen in Ireland before the Garda get involved?

Well, it depends.

Take, for example, the thirty-seven pieces of state-owned art that recently went missing from Leinster House.

The Gardai were not called in and are, apparently, not interested.

It’s all being quietly dealt with ‘in house’, so to speak.

First of all the art pieces are, apparently, only ‘missing’, ‘misplaced’ or otherwise ‘unaccounted for’. They have not, apparently, being stolen.

The accommodation managers have beeen ordered to locate the artwork and if they cannot then they will be officially declared missing.

This will take two or three weeks, so no hurry; no panic.

It seems that when staff take a fancy to a particular piece of art they ‘take it’ with them when they move office.

According to an official the resources necessary to keep track of everything are not available.

While some of the pieces went missing after the last general election other items went missing well before that.

It appears that the whole matter of artwork going missing from Leinster House is as common and as unremarked upon as a politician doing a favour for a constituent.

No need to call in the Guards, sure the art will turn up somewhere, sometime and if they have to be officially declared ‘missing’ sure what’s harm.

But what happens when state-owned artwork goes missing from a location outside the control of politicians and state officials?

Well, it’s theft, pure and simple and the Gardai are called in immediately.

A major Garda investigation is underway after state-owned paintings were stolen, not ‘missing or misplaced’ now, but stolen from a warehouse in Co Kildare.

Gardai are investigating staff at the private warehouse where the paintings were stored.

Neither Leinster House staff nor politicians are being investigated by Gardai.

Gardai want to know how the thieves were able to gain access to the warehouse.

Nobody in Leinster House is being asked about access to the missing artwork.

The Gardai are trying to determine when the artwork was last checked.

In Leinster House nobody seems to know the when, who or how when it comes to checking artwork.

Gardai are trying to establish a timeline of events leading up to the theft of the paintings.

In Leinster House, well, some of the artwork went missing before and some after the last election; nobody really knows what’s going on.

Gardai are trying to establish who had access to the warehouse and who had knowledge of its contents.

In Leinster House it seems everybody had access to the artwork and just took what they liked.

Gardai want to know what security procedures were in operation, how they were bypassed and how the theft went unnoticed.

In Leinster House there is, apparently, no security and the ‘missing’ artwork wasn’t missed for ages.

The Department of Arts and Heritage is carrying out a massive review of security within the department.

In Leinster House the accommodation managers have been instructed to have a look around and see if they can find anything.

So it seems, when state property goes missing at a location where state officials and politicians are responsible nothing much really happens.

There’s no suspicion that a crime may have been committed, the very thought.

When state property goes missing outside of the political/administrative sector there is a strong and immediate reaction by state authorities.

And the lesson is?

If you fancy a nice piece of free art – Leinster House is the place.

Snouts in the trough – out with principles

Letter in today’s Irish Times.

The letter supports the core principle of Public Inquiry – that Ireland is an intrinsically corrupt state.

That all politicians and political parties, once they have their snouts in the trough, have no problem in abandoning their principles.

Sir,

Prof Ray Kinsella has suggested that at least one seat in the Seanad should be reserved for the Diaspora (October 24th).

Frankly, such a seat would have all the attraction of a berth on the Titanic as it approaches the iceberg.

One of the unremarked benefits of emigration is that the emigrant can leave behind the endemic sleaze, nepotism and corruption of Irish political life.

The fiction that the creators of the Republic sought power for the people of Ireland has been totally exposed as successive “governments” of the same political clique overturn their “principles” as soon as they get their snouts in the trough.

The reality is that in a country much smaller in population than London there are far too many TDs, far too many “political advisers”, far too large political salaries and far too large allowances.

Moreover, there is clearly no intention of changing matters except around the fringes.

When Enda Kenny and his cronies go crawling to Angela Merkel, does it ever occur to them how they must appear when they are paying themselves pretty much the same as their German equivalents who have a 10 times larger population?

I suggest the time to offer emigrants a say in Irish political life is when political degeneracy here has been eliminated.

In the meantime, they would be better served by involving themselves in the political life of the countries to which they have emigrated rather than trying to prop up the edifice of the country that has failed them.

Yours etc,

Kevin O’Sullivan
Co Donegal

Double standards

Letter in today’s Irish Examiner.

Double standards

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is to be commended for immediately launching an investigation into the alleged misappropriation of Irish charity funds in Uganda.

In addition to the investigation Mr Gilmore has also made it clear to the government of Uganda that he will not tolerate any misappropriation or misuse of Irish money.

This prompt and appropriate action stands in stark contrast to Mr Gilmore’s response to a report from Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly that the Department of Health has been effectively misappropriating funds due to disabled citizens over 66 years of age.

Instead of acting immediately to halt this, Mr Gilmore has decided to seek legal advice on the matter.

It seems we are once again witnessing the double standards of Irish politicians when it comes to law enforcement and accountability.

Anthony Sheridan
Cobh

Feck them, feck them all

There was a very angry woman on Liveline yesterday complaining about the harassment she has received from the incompetent Local Government Management Agency.

Despite having paid her household charge the woman continues to receive threatening letters from the agency.

She told Joe that she’s sorry now that she obeyed the law and paid up immediately ending with:

Feck them, feck them all.

Reply to Office of Public Works

My reply to Office of Public Works Press Office regarding thirty seven pieces of state-owned artwork missing from Leinster House.

Dear…

Thank you for the generalised overview of the State Art Collection.

Unfortunately the information you provide bears little relevance to the series of questions I had asked.

You did confirm that the art collection is managed by an inventory system and therefore you will be aware that such a system is very efficient in recording and tracking the location and movements of all art items.

The system also allows for the immediate identification of those responsible for art items at any particular time.

You will be aware, for example, that if a work of art is moved from Leinster House to another location in the country it is signed out of Leinster House and signed in to its new location and that inventories at both locations are changed to reflect the event.

This also applies when items are moved from office to office within the same building.

You will also be aware that inventories and those responsible for their contents are regularly checked by a higher authority to ensure that all items are present and correct.

My queries are specifically concerned with the art items missing from the Leinster House complex over a very specific period of time.

On the assumption that the Leinster House inventory system was properly operated and supervised it is reasonable to assume that the information I have requested is in existence.

With this in mind I have re-submitted my questions below.

If you are unable to answer any particular question I would be grateful if you would simply state that fact and provide a reason for your inability to answer.

I would also request that in replying to my queries that you extend the same courtesy to me that I automatically extend to you – that I am a person of at least average intelligence.

Yours Sincerely
Anthony Sheridan

What are the name, position and rank of the person/s responsible for the safe keeping of the missing items?

What action has been taken in response to the missing items?

In particular, what action has been taken in respect of items that went missing prior to the last general election?

What is the overall time period in which the items went missing?

Please supply a list of the estimated value of each missing item

Please supply a list of the exact offices/locations from which items went missing

Please supply a list of the officials/politicians who occupied offices from which items went missing.

Please confirm or otherwise if members of the public are entitled to speak directly to OPW officials regarding this matter.

If only Ireland had law enforcement like Uganda

I see the Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has suspended all Irish Aid payments channeled through the Ugandan Government after allegations that €4 million has been misappropriated.

The move comes after a draft report by the Auditor General of Uganda found that millions had been transferred to unauthorized accounts in the office of Ugandan Prime Minister.

The Ugandan Auditor General has the power to investigate the Prime Minister?

The Ugandan Auditor General actually used his powers, he enforces law?

The state of Uganda has independent authorities that are willing to act against the most powerful people in the land?

If only Ireland had such dedicated, independent law enforcers.

The equivalent action here would be a fifteen year- long multi-million euro tribunal with not further action.

OPW replies but gives no answers

The Office of Public Works (OPW) Press Office has replied to my questions regarding the missing art items from Leinster House.

Predictably, none of my questions were actually answered. Instead I got a generalized overview of how the OPW handles public works of art.

Dear Mr. Sheridan,

I refer to your below e mail.

The art works located throughout the buildings in the Leinster House complex are from the State Art Collection.

By its nature, the State Art Collection is mobile.

The works circulate from building to building and inventory keeping is an integral part of day-to-day collection management.

The art works are placed on loan to many buildings throughout the country and locations are routinely checked.

There are over 15,000 art works in the State collection located in thousands of rooms in hundreds of public buildings.

Works that are not located during a routine inventory check are not necessarily missing. In most cases, these works have simply been moved to a different location within a building.

The staff from the OPW Art Management Office work closely with building managers in other State properties on a regular basis.

An inventory check is taking place in Leinster House at present in co-operation with staff there.

I hope the above is of assistance to you.

Regards,