IPA DGov - Ireland, Finance and Social Justice - 10 Jan 2015

Dr. Conor McCabe

UCD School of Social Justice

Over the last quarter of a

century something

fundamental seems to

have changed in the way

in which capitalism works.

The tendency since 1970

has been towards greater

geographical mobility of

capital.

Rather than being a modest

helper to the capital

accumulation process,

[finance] gradually turned into

a driving force.

Speculative finance became a

kind of secondary engine for

growth given the weakness in

the primary engine, productive

investment.

“Part of the reason people get less giddy

about the Dow than they did five years

ago is that they have learnt a bit about

inequality.

what looks like a recovery, a rally or an

increase in consumer confidence may

just be the effect of elites passing money

among themselves.“

Christopher Caldwell, FT 9 March 2013

One company –

200 employees

One employee–

200 companies

Irish Executives in the six

lenders must have been

rubbing their hands with

glee as the State-

sponsored €400 billion

insurance policy covers

commercial, institutional

and interbank deposits,

and investors who have

bought some of their

debt.

The State guarantee

allows the six lenders to

borrow more freely and

more cheaply for short-

term funding that had

become scarce due to

the global credit crunch.

Mr. Lenihan said on

Tuesday that the

increase on the cap

on deposit

guarantees up to

€100,000 from

€20,000 last month

covered 97 per cent

of customer deposits

so the guarantee has

clearly been included

for the benefit of the

banks rather than the

savers…

“Denis Casey, chief

executive of Irish Life

and Permanent, said

the guarantee would

allow Permanent

TSB and the other

Irish banks covered

to borrow more

cheaply.

“The oxygen supply

for Irish banks was

being cut off and

healthy banks were

starting to gasp for

breath. This

guarantee turns on

the oxygen supply.”

“Eurostat, the EU Commission’s data agency has calculated the cost of the banking crisis in each EU country. The following focuses on the cost to general government budgets. Ireland has really taken one for Team EU.”

A Really Really Special Case Requires a Really Really Special Solution

Michael Taft, 15 Jan 2013