"The Failure of Irish Capitalism"

by Devil's Advocate - Justice Sun Oct 27, 2013 16:31

Kieran Allen, a sociologist who works in UCD, said, 'Figures show that the wealthy have effectively gone on an investment strike. A mere €16 billion is being invested in Ireland compared to €46 billion in 2007. This is unsustainable and means that unemployment and emigration will continue for some time'.

£46 billion invested in Ireland in 2007 but a meagre £16 billion now. I am not surprised. Holding money in Ireland is a hazard to health and anxiety levels with the paper trail that is haunting our pensioners, our baby boomers now retired and people with disabilities who have received financial settlements from the courts or other sources. Why? Try opening a bank account in one of our State owned banks or for that matter in Bank of Ireland which still has the dregs of once worthwhile shares. Evidence is the order of the day now. They need a utility bill address, they need passport copies but witnessed by solicitors (beware the many defunct solicitors now advisers to Debt Options and others), or for that matter bankers with their stamp). Try adding a name to your account at the Post Office and again it is a data mining exercise with the bureaucracy to go with it.

Then for those who may have held shares in publicly quoted companies ie Stock Exchange, through their lives, the surprise post these days is a letter from the stockbrokers with the intimidating inference that their funds invested in stocks and shares have links with money laundering and they must by a certain date provide evidence of who they are basically and in line with what the banks are requesting to open new accounts. For those people who want to hold a sterling account in Ireland yielding no interest, just a preference in currency - this is the real hurdle. The advice received from an AIB staff member was to get on a bus and go North and choose an English bank. Try to proceed with the argument that you don't want to desert that sinking ship called Ireland Inc and you will find that it may take up to 2 months and lots of bureaucratic nonsense to open a Sterling account, which in the days of Central Bank control, was a whole lot easier.

Are we getting the message why people are no longer choosing to hold funds in Ireland? We are creating a bureaucracy equivalent to what you find if you are working as an ex-pat in Zimbabwe receiving local currency and bound by their Reserve Bank rules. A pure hell hole for those who have the money to invest. What can we learn from this: we learn that people will seek out simplicity - hence the black economy appears to be thriving in Ireland as it still governs Zimbabwe.

Kieran I hope in your book you have looked at the Ireland Inc that has welcomed so many migrants to its shores. Ireland Inc was many times before a nation of emigrants but the difference this time is that our people are unlikely to be remitting money home (because why would they send back money when they left properties in negative equity). T real he scary part is that there are others (un-checked by Government or Central Banks) busy remitting vast sums of money 'home'. Check out the OECD figures which revealed that Nigerian migrants to Ireland remitted 500€ million (this is half a billion) back to Nigeria in 2012. Where is the common sense? Western Union and others facilitating the flow outwards, it must be considerable if the OECD report that 500 € million was sent to Nigeria alone in 2012.

Austerity is killing Ireland Inc.

Ireland is a small open economy that must sell her wares and the truth is the message has not got through yet. We are not watching the pennies.......Remittances are leakages from our boat and we are sinking fast.

Devil's Advocate