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IRELAND SPECIAL Finance
Ireland: neighbours envy
The Celtic Tiger was a thriving, credit rich, ambition
driven economy that over the period from 1995 to
2007 placed Ireland at the forefront of the European
Economic ideal.
24 Link January 2011
It may be a small island on the periphery
of Europe and the last isolated country
in terms of road or rail connection to
mainland Europe but Ireland has recently
risen to the top of the global economic
agenda as a result of the financial crisis that
has struck across the Euro Zone.
In the not too distant past the main
European powers were championing Ireland
as the economic and commercial model
that all should follow. The Celtic Tiger
was a thriving, credit rich, ambition driven
economy that over the period from 1995
to 2007 placed Ireland at the forefront of
the European Economic ideal and during
that twelve year stretch of year on year
growth, Ireland became the envy of many an
emerging economy.
The reality for economies run on the
Fractional Reserve Banking system, is that
sooner rather than later, the Bankers call in
their debt as their ‘reserves’ are not sufficient
to cover the loans spread in the markets.
They never have been and never will be. It is
a system run on debt.
Ireland’s banks benefited from the low
interest rates available in the markets
and began pumping enormous sums into
the construction sector for developers to
speculate on property prices rising, the result
of which was ‘values’ soaring at alarming
rates. In Supply Chain circles, sustainability
is a central mantra, the financial services
sector is now adopting this as an integral
philosophy as part of their re-structuring.
At the centre of Ireland’s current woes
is the government bank bail-out which left
holes in national accounts and the country
in need of an emergency cash injection. It is
hoped that with the involvement of the IMF,
The National Procurement
Service in Ireland has
targeted savings of
approximately €40 million
in 2010, with €50 million
savings proposed for 2011.
This will rise to €65 million
by 2014.