Latest:
- 10:42 Pompey crisis 'really hurts' - Storrie
- 10:42 Pompey crisis 'really hurts' - Storrie
- 10:01 Two quizzed after drugs seized
- 09:51 UN chief shown Israeli settlement
- 09:46 Ancelotti sets new Blues target
- 09:46 Ancelotti sets new Blues target
- 09:41 Thai protesters stage mass rally
- 09:06 Villa to hold talks with Milner
Budget fury man jailed after Fianna Fail office attacked
A UNEMPLOYED man suffering from 'Budget blues' is behind bars following an alleged attack on a Fianna Fail office.
Garda body can use state funds for action
A garda body which is threatening to take strike action over pay cuts is getting more than €235,000 a year from the Department of Justice.
Accounts to be scanned in welfare fraud crackdown
SUSPECTED social-welfare cheats will have their bank accounts scanned under new anti-fraud powers.
Unions want private sector on board for national protest
UNION leaders plan to get private sector workers on board for a disruptive campaign of industrial action after public servants suffered a €1bn pay cut.
Doctor accuses Lenihan of fuelling alcohol problems
A LEADING accident and emergency consultant has described the Budget's reduction in the price of alcohol as a retrograde step for public health.
Our sea is still choppy but the ship is being steered at last
Fishermen will tell you that when weather, wind and currents are on the turn, a curious, choppy and deceptive water (it's called "an uncertain sea") is the result. Such a sight is worrying not only to a captain trying to chart his course, but also to his spirit.
Think this Budget was bad? It'll get worse
THE €1bn pay cut hurled at public-sector workers in last Wednesday's Budget could be the least of their worries.
Now is our era of truth and consequences
BRIAN Lenihan put an end to the dithering and indecisiveness of this Government last week and opted instead for consequences. All the messing and prevaricating of the previous week was put to one side as he read his Budget speech to the Dail and announced that, at long last, this Government had found the strength to lead.
Forget the myths, cutbacks spared us a Greek tragedy
'Those bastards, they're taunting us," said Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. "No, no. You couldn't be more wrong. They're saluting you, they're saluting fellow braves," said Lieutenant Adendorff. If, like me, you're stocking up on classic Sixties movies for Christmas, I can highly recommend the 1963 movie Zulu. Richard Burton's majestic intro and epilogue aside, the two final lines by actors Michael Caine and Gert van den Burgh will bring a lump to your throat.
Fionnan Sheahan: Cowen clears hurdles but he must get off the fence
After a flurry of high-profile PR outings, the Taoiseach has lapsed back into his old habits, worse than ever before
Inside The Budget
Property tax: Owners may have to pay for valuations of homes
HOMEOWNERS could face extra property charges on top of a new tax being planned by the Government if they have to pay for valuations of their homes.
Tesco admits upping price of petrol six hours early
SOME motorists were forced to pay the carbon tax on fuel a day early after the country's biggest retailer imposed the price hike six hours before it was due to come into force.
Cowen finally walks the walk
WHATEVER your opinion of the National Asset Management Agency, the outcome of the Lisbon Treaty referendum or Budget 2010, you have to admit that Brian Cowen's Government, despite being probably the most unpopular in the history of the state, is managing to get a lot done.
- Brendan Keenan: Brian's brutal Budget means hard part is over
- Lise Hand: Unusual suspects give House a jolt as FF tries to bolt through key vote
- Maeve Dineen: Lenihan beginning to put things back together again
- Charlie Weston: Cowardly Budget hits old reliables -- mum and dad
- Ciaran Byrne: Lenihan sticks to his mantra that 'we have turned the corner'
Car scrappage scheme will achieve little, says economist
THE author of the controversial An Bord Snip report has criticised the car scrappage scheme unveiled in this week's Budget.
Budget Main Points
Columnist Comments
• Eoghan Harris: Cowen puts country first and will reap the reward
George Orwell says political writers should not repeat anything they read anywhere else. I'm there. Indeed I would rather remove my big toe with a hammer than repeat the rubbish about Brian Cowen peddled by most media pundits.
• Brendan Keenan: Brian's brutal Budget means hard part is over
THE most surprising thing about the Budget was not in the Budget at all. It was Finance Minister Brian Lenihan's comment that next year's Budget would be easier.
• Charlie Weston: Cowardly Budget hits old reliables -- mum and dad
FAMILIES with children got clobbered yesterday by a Cabinet that seems hell-bent on hitting what it sees as a soft target.
• David McWilliams: Minister and his mandarins forecast neither boom nor bust...so why trust them now?
THIS Budget is unfortunately without any real merit, apart from the national recovery bond idea which is interesting and shows an ability to think logically about where we are at this stage.
Budget 2010
Given the state of the nation’s finances, do you think this is a fair budget?
Given the state of the nation’s finances, do you think this is a fair budget?
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Yes 56%
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No 39%
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Undecided 5%
Columnist Comments
• Fionnan Sheahan: How times have changed since the 'giveaway' Budget of 2000
WHAT a difference a decade makes. Riding the crest of a wave of economic growth in December 1999, Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy describes his Budget as "the largest social welfare package ever in our history".
• Maeve Dineen: Lenihan beginning to put things back together again
MANY business people are going to be unhappy with this Budget because it takes almost no account of the Christmas wishlists submitted by the country's various business lobby groups.
• Martina Devlin: Brian's tawdry conjuring trick only worthy of a slow hand-clap
I HAD a Wizard of Oz moment yesterday when the screen covering the wizard was tipped over -- and instead of a master at the controls, I saw a man trying to turn round the economy using nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
• Medb Ruane: Lots of ways to skin a cat but will the kittens be safe?
YOU can skin a cat in 50 ways but it still hurts. Brian Lenihan set out yesterday to rebalance government spending without hitting the vulnerable. The question is whether the kittens are safe.
