Daft Property - Irish Property News

Nation braces for impact of Lenihan’s savage budget... FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan last night warned he was “taking the knife” to billions of euro worth of spending in an emergency budget that may also inflict “painful” tax hikes. Signalling the grimmest government financial statement for a generation, Mr Lenihan revealed only the social welfare department would escape deep cuts. He insisted his key priority was to try and stabilise the State’s finances in the most difficult circumstances “in living memory”. Mr Lenihan’s blunt talking came as cabinet colleague Noel Dempsey indicated “painful” tax cuts would feature in the crunch economic statement. Preparing the nation for what is likely to be the most savage budget in a quarter century, Mr Lenihan said he faced immense challenges. “We want to stabilise the public finances in the most difficult circumstances in living memory,” he told RTÉ. Transport Minister Noel Dempsey also braced taxpayers for increases. “You can either borrow, c

GOVERNMENTS have been drinking at the Last Chance Saloon when it comes to rescuing the world financial system, but it seems there is still a great reluctance to pay for the rounds. Last night's announcement from the emergency meeting of EU leaders fell short of the all-out strategy now being advocated by most economists. This would see governments putting fresh money (capital) into the banks so that they can begin counting and admitting all the capital they have lost through making loans which have not been repaid and, worse, buying loans and derivatives of loans at prices far above their real value. How far above was horribly illustrated on Friday at an auction of bonds issued by failed investment bank Lehman Bros. They were sold at less than 10 cents on the dollar, which means those banks which bought the bonds have lost over 90pc of their money. There is a general consensus now that losses in the global banking system are over a trillion dollars ($1,000 billion). It is an unimag

The golden triangle – FF, the builders and the banks... Despite last week's bail-out, some of the country's most ambitious redevelopment plans are still in jeopardy... It was Fianna Fáil's best friend, Bob the Builder, who propelled the banks into the liquidity crisis and caused the historic post-midnight sitting of the Dáil. After a decade of swaggering around the corridors of power and inside the Fianna Fáil tent, many of those feted builders are now expected to put their most extravagant plans on ice and sit out the recession, cushioned by the citizens' guarantee to the financial institutions . "We're not so much talking about a golden circle as the golden triangle – Fianna Fáil, the builders and the banks," says Labour's Joan Burton. Irish banks are owed €110bn by the property and construction sector. It accounts for €60 of every €100 that residents have on deposit. As 28% of all borrowings, it is significantly greater than the 25% construction p

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

Classic song by the spitting image TV show to the tune of the Madness song - Our House. Based on the financial situation of the time, rather like that of today..... Lyrics: Dad believed what Maggie said Get a mortgage buy a home So dad took out a great big loan For a while there we were chuffed Now the market has collapsed And we're absolutely stuffed Our house, in the middle of a slump Our house, no one wants to buy this dump Dad is desperate to sell But now our homes worth even less Than a pension from Maxwell Our living room's a mess Full of magistrates and bailiffs Trying to repossess Our house, in the middle of the boom Our house, it was worth a small fortune Our house, left us in a dreadful state Our house, why the hell'd we decorate We really caught a cold Nowhere we can go to now All the council houses have been sold Our dads taken some stick He's still voting Tory though By God he must be thick Our house, didn't work out like we planned Our house, prices dr

Ireland's decision to guarantee all bank deposits will contribute to the demise of the single European currency, because it will erode the euro's credibility ...Hugh Hendry, chief investment officer and Partner at Eclectica Fund, told CNBC on Thursday... Watch the video: Promises of lavish spending such as this and others being discussed in Europe will erode investors' confidence, Hendry warned. The plan pledges to guarantee the liabilities of six Irish-owned banks totaling some 400 billion euros ($565 billion), more than twice the country's annual gross domestic product . "The decision, if left to stand … my prophecy is it will bring down the currency. The euro is not a tenable currency if you have politicians making such decisions. The reality is there is no such thing as a free lunch "... Irish lawmakers backed the plan and the government said it may be extended to foreign banks with retail units in Ireland, but it has raised questions in Brussels and Londo

So why are we in this international economic crisis - it's no accident - it's been planned for some time. Meet the money masters... "The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching plan, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private ... all » hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole...Their secret is that they have annexed from governments, monarchies, and republics the power to create the world's money..." THE MONEY MASTERS is a non-fiction, historical documentary that traces the origins of the political power structure that rules our nation and the world today. The modern political power structure has its roots in the hidden manipulation and accumulation of gold and other forms of money. The development of fractional reserve banking practices in the 17th century brought to a cunning sophistication the secret techniques initially used by goldsmiths fraudulently to accumu

BBC panel discuss the ramifications of the passing of the $700 billion 'Bailout Bill' in the US, and the impact that will be felt in Europe and the Middle East...

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

The middle classes bear the brunt of crippling hikes in cost of living Cost of living survey The real cost of living is rising much, much faster than official figures suggest... The Sunday Independent/IIB Homeloans Cost of Living Index reveals who is being squeezed hardest and who can keep spending like there’s no tomorrow... THE MIDDLE CLASSES Cost of living up 14% in just two years THE Irish stock market is down 65 per cent, property prices are down about 20 per cent and Lansdowne Road won't be open for another two years. It's been an awful time for Ireland's aspiring middle classes. They have been hockeyed as their cost of living has risen at about one and a half times the national average. If you've bought a des res in Ranelagh, you'll feel the pain of a 68 per cent jump in mortgage repayments over two years. Especially if your house has lost 20 per cent of its value. Education costs are up 11.3 per cent. Insurance costs are up 3.6 per cent in the last year. Hea

IRELAND had the fourth biggest fall in house prices in the world this year ... Only Estonia, the US and Latvia have been harder hit by the drop in property values, a study by research group Global Property Guide shows. House prices in Ireland fell by 9.6pc in the year to June, according to the index. But when the level of inflation is taken into account, the drop was 13.9pc . The compilers of the index point out that "in Ireland, the 2009 Budget will include a 'stimulus package' helping first-time homebuyers". Latvia recorded the biggest fall in prices, after inflation was taken into account, with a 33pc drop. In the US, the inflation-adjusted fall for the year to June was 19pc. A host of European countries have recorded much smaller falls in house prices than Ireland. In Britain, the inflation-adjusted drop was nearly 10pc and Portugal recorded a fall of 8pc. Spain, which is now experiencing a sharp construction slowdown, recorded an inflation-adjusted decline of 2.

Does the following sound fimilar?... " This is an extraordinary period...Over the past few weeks, many...have felt anxiety about their finances and their future. I understand their worry and their frustration . We've seen triple-digit swings in the stock market. Major financial institutions have teetered on the edge of collapse , and some have failed. As uncertainty has grown, many banks have restricted lending. Credit markets have frozen. And families and businesses have found it harder to borrow money. We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis ... First, how did our economy reach this point? For more than a decade, a massive amount of money flowed ...from investors abroad, because our country is an attractive and secure place to do business. This large influx of money to... banks and financial institutions -- along with low interest rates -- made it easier...to get credit. These developments allowed more families to borrow money for cars and homes... some for the

Pressure on Cowen as millions go to waste... Millions of euro of taxpayers' money has been lost by state bodies and agencies, the report from spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) said. In his first report, new C&AG John Buckley starkly uncovered the extent of the Government's failure to properly control its dwindling finances. It was published as ministers prepare to slash public services in next month's budget, which has been brought forward by six weeks, in a bid to combat the deepening economic downturn. The report revealed that the tax authorities had to make an embarrassing settlement of €1.7m to themselves for unpaid taxes, after failing to tax travel benefits awarded to their own staff. Mr Buckley's report exposed many of the same inadequacies as his predecessor, as he raised direct and specific concerns. He identified: "Shortcomings in the management of the State's financial resources". "Questions as to the eff

Revenue failed to tax €2m staff benefit... BENEFIT-IN-KIND TAX: DELAYS BY the Revenue in identifying obligations to tax benefit-in-kind (Bik) of approximately €2 million paid to its own staff is highlighted in the report. In the course of drafting a Statement of Practice during 2006, officials raised concerns in relation to the tax treatment of benefits received by Revenue's own staff in respect of travel to and from work. A working group reviewed benefits which had accrued from January 2004 to June 2007. About €2 million accrued by way of Bik during the period reviewed. This comprised €1.7 million for use of official vehicles by officers for travel to and from work, and €0.3 million paid under agreements made with staff whose work began or ended between the hours of 11pm and 8am in locations not served by public transport. An overall liability was calculated at €1,656,920, including interest and penalties. The relevant Inspector of Taxes was informed of Revenue's intention to

OPINION: Unbridled capitalism outlived its communist rival for exactly 17 years... POLITICAL HISTORIES, with their clear before-and-after dates, are so much neater to write about than their rather more tortuous economic cousins. On December 21st, 1991, the representatives of all member republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, with the exception of Georgia, signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, dismembering the USSR. Just five days later, on St Stephen's Day 1991, the Supreme Soviet dissolved both itself and the country it had once ruled. One of the two great political and economic theories of the 20th century, Soviet communism, ceased to exist. The year 2008 will enter our history books as the year when the rival 20th century theory of unbridled capitalism passed away. As this demise is an economic one, we lack an equivalent before-and-after date. Perhaps historians with a sense of symmetry will select December 26th, 2008? Such a selection would allow us to write that unbridle

The crash is now the new porn... Fair play to the Irish, we'll knock a bit of crack out of anything. The property boom, for all that the official line now says it was the worst thing that ever happened to us, we treated as one huge game in which everyone could be a player. Even people who weren't investors as such, but who just happened to own a house because that's where they lived, had a great ride for 10 years as they constantly calculated how much their house was now worth and how much more they had made in the property game last year than they made by actually working. Most people were never going to sell their houses, and if they were they were going to have to buy an equally overpriced one, but people just enjoyed the feeling of getting ever richer on paper. What other nation could come up with a whole new type of porn, based on fully-clothed people standing in their kitchens, often flanked by their cute children? And the sight of a Miele kitchen in a period house

"Immigration is now not merely the dominant feature of Irish life, it is the greatest threat to the existence of the Irish nation as a coherent, and cohesive whole" "No country has ever accepted, never mind assimilated, the volumes of foreigners now present in this state. We have some 400,000 legal immigrants; but everyone knows that the army of illegals, especially Africans and Chinese, is vast, and probably tops 200,000. In all, Ireland has received at least 600,000 immigrants, most of them within the past five years. It could be many more. No one has the least idea. In the US, such immigration would translate into an inward population movement of 45 million. In the UK, the figure would be nine million. Needless to say, neither state would be so idiotic or feckless as allow such vast numbers to enter. Only Ireland would be so idiotic and so morally lethargic as to allow such massive inward population movements. And of course, we haven't got the resources to cope wi

THE GOVERNMENT has no plan to deal with the biggest economic crisis in a quarter of a century and lacks the conviction to win public confidence, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny told an opening session of a two-day special conference of his parliamentary party in Co Clare yesterday. Warning that the next general election "may come a lot sooner than expected", he told his colleagues that if they were "united, disciplined and tough" they would win power in the next Dáil. Focusing on the Government's approach to the economy, Mr Kenny said people were frightened because nobody seemed to be in charge. "In response to the biggest economic crisis in a quarter century, the Government first denied, then dithered, then went on holidays ." He added: "All the Government seems to be able to do is congratulate itself - in advance - for tough actions they haven't yet taken, and they'd never have needed to take if they'd done their job well enough in

Celtic Tiger eatery closes its doors as downturn really bites... Now facing closure, Cooke's Cafe has long been one of the favourite eateries of the cashed-up chattering classes in Dublin. But the award-winning venue -- which counts celebs like U2 among its customers -- has this evening been served up as the industry's first high-profile casualty of Ireland's credit crunch. A spokesperson for the eatery, situated on the corner of South William Street and Castle Market, has confirmed to the Herald that they will cease trading at the end of this month. "It's true, we're closing up," he said. Shock In news that has sent shock waves through the tight-knit circle of Dublin restaurateurs and chefs, Cooke's will close its doors in two weeks. It's understood that the lease has now been bought by Abrakebabra owner Graham Beere, who has indicated he may turn it into a sushi restaurant or use the venue to extend his chain of Gourmet Burger Kitchen. As proof t

Uncertainty over jobs after record market fall... AS grave uncertainty hangs over the future of thousands of jobs at Irish branches of recession-slammed US firms, markets are not expected to rebound quickly from yesterday’s record-breaking fall. At home, the ISEQ index of Irish shares’ closing figure was its lowest for more than five years. Across Europe, the trend was similarly dismal for a second day, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index falling 2.6% to its worst close since May 2005. The stock market shock waves followed the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, the 158-year-old fourth largest financial institution in the US. In response, central banks around the globe pumped funds into the money markets, including €70bn from the European Central Bank, $50bn (€70.5bn) from the US Federal Reserve and £20bn (€25.2bn) from the Bank of England. Lehman’s bankruptcy filing, the biggest in US history, followed Merrill Lynch & Co’s decision at the weekend to sell itself to Bank of A

Smart talk? The whole global warming and need for carbon reduction is very much debatable. But measures are being taken in Ireland to reduce your carbon footprint in your house... It's now time for..."Smart meters scheme to help reduce home electricity bills... HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY meters in the Republic are to be replaced by "smart meters" which offer a range of functions including the intelligent use of cheap-rate electricity, while also providing for householders to sell home-generated electricity back to the national grid. The meters are to be rolled out over the next four years at a cost of almost €1 billion. Launching a pilot scheme involving an initial 15,000 smart meters yesterday, Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said they would help householders to reduce their electricity bills, improve the operation of the electricity system and reduce carbon emissions. Smart meters can monitor and record the amount of electricity used by the householder, as well as when i

It's changing times for Dublin City... " Dublin's last iconic factory to become real estate After 249 years, tracts of the brewery are to be sold to developers . THE SIGHTS, sounds and smells of the Guinness brewery at St James's Gate in Dublin have been part and parcel of the Liberties for nearly 250 years - ever since Arthur Guinness himself first secured a 9,000-year lease on four acres of ground in 1759 for an annual rent of £45, including water rights. The brewery has expanded substantially since then and now occupies 64 acres on either side of Thomas Street, stretching down to Victoria Quay on the River Liffey. It was from here that the Guinness barges transported kegs of stout downriver to the Lady Patricia and Lady Gwendolyn, moored at City Quay. The vast brewery has its own theatre and swimming pool, as well as the tracks of a narrow-gauge railway that once served the site. It still has its own power station to fuel the production of over 50 million barrels (n