Daft Property - Irish Property News

Where do we go from here? As the State stepped in this week to avert a collapse of the Irish banking system, Joe and Mary citizen were left pondering a very uncertain future ... ' WE ARE WHERE we are . It's time to move on. Just do the vote. Just . . . just get it done. Okay?" blustered a Wall Street trader last Monday, minutes after the US Congress rejected the $700 billion (€505 billion) bailout for the banks. The CNN interviewer persisted with a question about the rage bubbling under Main Street USA. The tetchy trader ignored it. "We are where we are," he repeated. "It's time to move on. Just do the vote." Sound familiar? It should. The mantra was snapped up on this side of the Atlantic this week and used to quell the rabble demanding that the Irish masters of the universe be made to account for themselves before Ireland Inc's reputation was sold to save their necks. "Listen. We are where we are," snapped one cheerleader dismissivel

Budget cuts of 2 billion euro as economic crisis deepens... But property developers seek hundreds of millions in refunds due to value losses ... FINANCE minister Brian Lenihan is looking for fresh spending cuts of around €800m for next year, on top of the €1.3bn reduction that has already been signed off by ministers in estimates negotiations. The grim news comes as it emerged this weekend that Ireland's property developers, who made millions in the boom, are seeking tax refunds of hundreds of millions of euro after writing down the value of their land banks and other assets. This threatens to drastically reduce the corporation tax receipts the Revenue Commissioners were banking on. With September tax returns expected to be very bad and the economic climate rapidly deteriorating, a further 1.5% reduction in 2009 spending is now up for debate. This would bring planned cutbacks in current expenditure for next year to more than €2bn . " It's very grim. Two weeks after finan

THE Irish banking system would have “totally collapsed” without the Government’s €400 billion crisis guarantee plan, the Tánaiste warned yesterday . Mary Coughlan made the claim as opposition parties attacked the rescue bid’s “vagueness”. The enterprise, trade and employment minister insisted failure to act would have tipped Ireland into economic meltdown. “We would have found ourselves in a different set of circumstances if we had not brought in this legislation. We would have undermined the system of banking and it would have totally collapsed,” she told the Dáil . Ms Coughlan was responding to demands from Labour leader Eamon Gilmore to explain exactly how much taxpayers were expected to put at risk to cover the rescue plan, and what banks would be charged if they take up the Government’s offer to cover their liabilities. “This country is being asked to go guarantor for the banks and in effect we are being asked to put up the deeds of the country as security in doing so. “How muc

Financial crisis...the main issues behind the government's decision to guarantee bank deposits... Q: Why did the Government guarantee bank deposits? A: It had no choice. After yesterday's collapse in bank shares and the rejection of the Paulson bank bailout plan in the United States, the Government had to move. With Irish banks paying a huge premium to borrow money from foreign banks our entire financial system had come within a few hours of completely seizing up. Q: How safe are my savings? A: After this morning's move, the savings of bank depositors are now 100pc state-guaranteed. This means that savers who have money deposited with the six Irish banks -- AIB, Bank of Ireland, Irish Life & Permanent, Anglo Irish, EBS and Irish Nationwide -- can sleep easily in their beds at night. Q: Which banks aren't covered by the guarantee? A: None of the foreign-owned banks are covered by the guarantee. These include Ulster Bank, NIB, First Active, Bank of Scotland, Halifax a