EU: Brave Ireland is the poster-child of EMU cruelty and folly

The Telegraph ^ | 3/3/2013 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

[bruinbirdman]

Ireland has done everything demanded by the EU’s creditor powers, and seemingly survived.

It has endured a fiscal squeeze of 16pc of GDP. It has stabilized the colossal debts left from taking on the gambling losses of Anglo Irish Bank at EU behest, that is to say from shielding German, British, Dutch and Belgian lenders from systemic contagion at a critical moment.

It has clawed its way back to market credibility, issuing bonds at respectable rates. “Our last issue of routine 3-month treasury bills was at 0.26pc, not quite what Germany gets but very low,” said finance minister Michael Noonan.

It was spared serious contagion from last week’s anti-austerity revolt in Italy, evidence of sorts that the Celtic Tiger is off the sick list. Deo volente, it will be the first of the EMU victim states to regain its sovereignty by early next year and escape control of the EU-IMF Troika, though it will answer to inspectors for another 20 years and the yet unborn will be paying off the €67bn of Troika indenture until 2042.

“If measured in terms of what the Troika expects, we have been very successful,” said Mr Noonan.

Other measures are less cheerful. The EU’s latest survey on “poverty and social exclusion” shows that the number of children at risk in Ireland has reached 37.6pc, worse than Italy (32pc), Greece (31pc), Spain (30pc) or Portugal (29pc).

There is a fascinating twist to the data, a glimpse of what 1930s deflation can do to the social structure of an indebted society. Just 12.9pc of Ireland’s elderly are at risk of poverty, lower than in Germany, Austria, Belgium or Britain.

Budget-busting pensions granted in the good times have risen in real terms. So have savings. But young families

[Olog-hai]

If Ireland “seemingly survived”, they surrendered more sovereignty to the EU than they lost to the UK under the 1801 Act of Union. Lots of under-the-table horse trading in that EU empire, and the full story isn’t out yet.

[Tainan]

To get an understanding of the "Irish mentality" one would do well to research the origins of the city of Dublin.
Ireland had a brief upsurge in the late 1980s - thru the mid 1990s. Its all been downhill since then.
A terrible mess they're in now.

[Jonty30]

I hope Ireland can recover from their foolishness and learn to not have a large sovereign debt ever again.

[Oratam]

To get an understanding of the "Irish mentality" one would do well to research the origins of the city of Dublin.

Let the foreigner set up his trading center (and presumably banking center) provided he leaves us to our farms and our fields.