1 April 1999 Edition
Workers in struggle: It's not just the money Bertie
``There is a strong view... probably the majority around the table, that we should not be entitled to cohesion funds at all.'' This was the opinion of Bertie Ahern, speaking at 6.30 am last Saturday morning after a new agreement on EU spending for the years 2000 to 2006 had been concluded by the EU heads of state.
Ahern and the other Fianna Fáil ministers were saving nothing in the self-congratulation and trumpet-blowing department. They had played hardball and stayed up all night so they must have won something.
The 26 Counties will receive total structural and cohesion funds of £2.97 billion, £10 billion in funds for farmers with £400 million being added to the EU's fund for Peace and Reconciliation. The Six Counties will receive £1.5 billion in structural and cohesion funds, almost the same as it received in the 1994 to 1999 funding round. The funding level here has been maintained because the British government has promised to make up any shortfall in EU spending.
Ahern was upbeat in his assessment of the funding negotiations. He had got more money out of the EU than many thought the Dublin government could secure. On the agricultural front, the funding cuts in CAP spending have been put off until 2006 so the Irish agricultural sector can totter on in its current chaotic state for another six years.
What Bertie Ahern has not done in the case of any of the funds - structural, cohesion or CAP - is to recognise the failures and the drawbacks of the funding mechanisms being used by the EU. For example, just under 7% of the total funding - £200 million - will be spent on community initiatives.
These community initiatives are the one part of the EU funds that actually make a difference at the basic level of society, yet they are a tiny amount of the total level of funding.
There has been no action on the inequities of the Common Agricultural Policy, where 10% of the farmers get 66% of the funds. This means that £6.6 billion in funds will go to the privileged farming group over the next six years, over £450,000 each.
There were no funding initiatives to promote organic farming in Ireland, no recognition of the problems facing small farmers, and insufficient funding devoted to rural development programmes or broadleaf forest projects.
£6.6 billion in funds could go to the privileged farming group over the next six years, over £450,000 each.
The structural funds secured by Ahern will be split into spending in two regions. The Western/Border/Midlands region will receive £932 million while the Eastern/Southern region will receive £1.45 billion.
This funding split arose because of the Dublin government's belief that by ring-fencing counties whose wealth was below 75% of the EU average, they would get more funding than the more wealthy eastern and southern states. This strategy backfired when the EU Commission insisted that Clare and Kerry be withdrawn from the poor list.
At the end of the day, the difference in funding is simply that the EU is paying £847 per person in the western/border/midlands region compared to £580 person in the eastern/southern region.
The government has also committed itself to a form of regionalisation of government structures in order to qualify for the new round of EU funding. They have not made any commitments on what form these new structures will take.
This all highlights the pressing need for real empowered local democracy in Ireland. The Dublin government has not explained to the Irish people how the two new regions will be administered and what structures they intend to create.
No, there is simply a belief that the boys did well solely because they managed to keep the other 14 heads of state up all night. Fine Gael's criticism of Fianna Fáil's funding accomplishment was that the level of funding had halved on what they brought home in 1994. This position, however, falls into the same trap that Fianna Fáil are in - a fascination with the total level of funding and not enough questioning of what the funds will be actually used for.
The core selling point of the EU since entry in 1972 and in every referendum and crisis since has hinged on one core selling point: they will give us money. Any of the downsides, even if they were prepared to admit them, would be offset by the level of EU funds flowing into the Irish economy.
The structural funds should prioritise the areas and communities that are most disadvantaged in Ireland. There should also be maximum participation of citizens and communities in deciding how the structural fund plan should be applied in their areas. Funds should be applied in the must efficient, equitable and transparent way possible while taking every precaution to protect and enhance our environment. Now that would be worth keeping Bertie Ahern up all night for.
Banks without ethics
Did you hear the one about the ethical bank? Probably not. According to a survey by the Debt and Development Coalition, no Irish bank has an ethical position to guide their lending policies to Third World states.
The Coalition wrote to 20 Irish banks and of the 13 who replied, only the Ulster Bank showed any understanding of the issues of ethical lending. Their recommendation is that ``lending to developing countries, even if it is relatively small in terms of overall lending or for the purpose of supporting the trade of Irish companies, should be done under ethical guidelines.
The next step would be to adopt ethical lending policies for their business in Ireland but for now it is back to the usual scenario of banks without ethics.
Wage dangers
The economy is being endangered yet again by dangerous workers who are getting wage increases that are too high. The Director General of the employers' group IBEC, John Dunne, claimed that the competitiveness of the Irish economy is under threat because of ``the drift in earnings''.
Speaking at an IBEC conference, Dunne singled out the wage increases paid out to public sector workers over the last year as being inflationary. Dunne is also opposed to the progressive changes in working-time regulations and the establishment of works council and unrestricted access to parental leave.
The IBEC director told the conference that ``there is still a lot of work to be done if attitudes are to be in tune with modern requirements''. It seems though, that IBEC's attitude to the workplace has more in common with Dickens' 19th century than any future Irish workers want to be in.
Bank breakers
The Central Bank has written to three of the main Irish financial institutions to warn them about breaching lending guidelines to home buyers.
Letters were sent to the three institutions by the Central Bank after they found the banks were lending too much money to individual borrowers. Most banks and building societies will only allow house purchasers to borrow 2.5 times their incomes.
The Central Bank is worried that if interest rates increase, home owners who have these high cost loans will not be able to make the payments. Higher loans also keep house prices high.
However, warning letters is as far as it will go with the banks as the Central Bank has no power to enforce lending guidelines on financial institutions. It seems that all the promises of tougher regulation for the banking sector have fallen short again.
Ahern and the other Fianna Fáil ministers were saving nothing in the self-congratulation and trumpet-blowing department. They had played hardball and stayed up all night so they must have won something.
The 26 Counties will receive total structural and cohesion funds of £2.97 billion, £10 billion in funds for farmers with £400 million being added to the EU's fund for Peace and Reconciliation. The Six Counties will receive £1.5 billion in structural and cohesion funds, almost the same as it received in the 1994 to 1999 funding round. The funding level here has been maintained because the British government has promised to make up any shortfall in EU spending.
Ahern was upbeat in his assessment of the funding negotiations. He had got more money out of the EU than many thought the Dublin government could secure. On the agricultural front, the funding cuts in CAP spending have been put off until 2006 so the Irish agricultural sector can totter on in its current chaotic state for another six years.
What Bertie Ahern has not done in the case of any of the funds - structural, cohesion or CAP - is to recognise the failures and the drawbacks of the funding mechanisms being used by the EU. For example, just under 7% of the total funding - £200 million - will be spent on community initiatives.
These community initiatives are the one part of the EU funds that actually make a difference at the basic level of society, yet they are a tiny amount of the total level of funding.
There has been no action on the inequities of the Common Agricultural Policy, where 10% of the farmers get 66% of the funds. This means that £6.6 billion in funds will go to the privileged farming group over the next six years, over £450,000 each.
There were no funding initiatives to promote organic farming in Ireland, no recognition of the problems facing small farmers, and insufficient funding devoted to rural development programmes or broadleaf forest projects.
£6.6 billion in funds could go to the privileged farming group over the next six years, over £450,000 each.
The structural funds secured by Ahern will be split into spending in two regions. The Western/Border/Midlands region will receive £932 million while the Eastern/Southern region will receive £1.45 billion.
This funding split arose because of the Dublin government's belief that by ring-fencing counties whose wealth was below 75% of the EU average, they would get more funding than the more wealthy eastern and southern states. This strategy backfired when the EU Commission insisted that Clare and Kerry be withdrawn from the poor list.
At the end of the day, the difference in funding is simply that the EU is paying £847 per person in the western/border/midlands region compared to £580 person in the eastern/southern region.
The government has also committed itself to a form of regionalisation of government structures in order to qualify for the new round of EU funding. They have not made any commitments on what form these new structures will take.
This all highlights the pressing need for real empowered local democracy in Ireland. The Dublin government has not explained to the Irish people how the two new regions will be administered and what structures they intend to create.
No, there is simply a belief that the boys did well solely because they managed to keep the other 14 heads of state up all night. Fine Gael's criticism of Fianna Fáil's funding accomplishment was that the level of funding had halved on what they brought home in 1994. This position, however, falls into the same trap that Fianna Fáil are in - a fascination with the total level of funding and not enough questioning of what the funds will be actually used for.
The core selling point of the EU since entry in 1972 and in every referendum and crisis since has hinged on one core selling point: they will give us money. Any of the downsides, even if they were prepared to admit them, would be offset by the level of EU funds flowing into the Irish economy.
The structural funds should prioritise the areas and communities that are most disadvantaged in Ireland. There should also be maximum participation of citizens and communities in deciding how the structural fund plan should be applied in their areas. Funds should be applied in the must efficient, equitable and transparent way possible while taking every precaution to protect and enhance our environment. Now that would be worth keeping Bertie Ahern up all night for.
Banks without ethics
Did you hear the one about the ethical bank? Probably not. According to a survey by the Debt and Development Coalition, no Irish bank has an ethical position to guide their lending policies to Third World states.
The Coalition wrote to 20 Irish banks and of the 13 who replied, only the Ulster Bank showed any understanding of the issues of ethical lending. Their recommendation is that ``lending to developing countries, even if it is relatively small in terms of overall lending or for the purpose of supporting the trade of Irish companies, should be done under ethical guidelines.
The next step would be to adopt ethical lending policies for their business in Ireland but for now it is back to the usual scenario of banks without ethics.
Wage dangers
The economy is being endangered yet again by dangerous workers who are getting wage increases that are too high. The Director General of the employers' group IBEC, John Dunne, claimed that the competitiveness of the Irish economy is under threat because of ``the drift in earnings''.
Speaking at an IBEC conference, Dunne singled out the wage increases paid out to public sector workers over the last year as being inflationary. Dunne is also opposed to the progressive changes in working-time regulations and the establishment of works council and unrestricted access to parental leave.
The IBEC director told the conference that ``there is still a lot of work to be done if attitudes are to be in tune with modern requirements''. It seems though, that IBEC's attitude to the workplace has more in common with Dickens' 19th century than any future Irish workers want to be in.
Bank breakers
The Central Bank has written to three of the main Irish financial institutions to warn them about breaching lending guidelines to home buyers.
Letters were sent to the three institutions by the Central Bank after they found the banks were lending too much money to individual borrowers. Most banks and building societies will only allow house purchasers to borrow 2.5 times their incomes.
The Central Bank is worried that if interest rates increase, home owners who have these high cost loans will not be able to make the payments. Higher loans also keep house prices high.
However, warning letters is as far as it will go with the banks as the Central Bank has no power to enforce lending guidelines on financial institutions. It seems that all the promises of tougher regulation for the banking sector have fallen short again.