Halloween – the perfect night for the pub

Don’t get me wrong - I’ve nothing against children. No, really! I mean, I wouldn't actually harm them, anyway. Not even the Celtic Bratz that knocked on the front door last year, and greeted my generous offering of assorted sweeties – bought expressly for the occasion – with a belligerent “is that all you’ve got?”. I needn’t tell you, I only curbed my instinct to snatch back said offerings – while delivering a kick up the gits' podgy little arses – due to mummy’s threatening, po-faced, arms-folded, presence at the garden gate.

Mind you, kids are a blank canvas, aren’t they? If they’re ungrateful, spoilt little bastards – similar to that Viz character in the sailor hat – you can only blame it on their parents. After all, if their folks are stupid enough to believe their genes are worthy of perpetuation, they’ll be stupid enough to bring up their kids with all their own attendant character flaws.

Gombeen Man often ponders the near-extinction of the good, old-fashioned, decent Dubliner – and the displacement of that archetype by the modern Dublin skanger. Gombeen Man’s folks were Dubliners, of course, as were theirs and theirs (as far as he can go back, actually), and they were thoroughly decent people – shitty and all as their lives were. There are a few of that mould still around, but Christ, they are few and far between.

So what better time of the year to celebrate the ascendancy of the Dublin skanger than Halloween? It’s a time of lard-arsed little shits banging on your door, demanding sweets/money/a-standing-order-to-their-bank-accounts with menaces. It’s a time when no cat that values its arse can wander out, for fear of a tracksuit-clad scumbag sticking a banger up said orifice. It’s a time when the whole of the Dublin 15 skyline resembles the Baghdad heavens at the height of its forced “liberation”.

And do you know what else? It’s a time to get the hell out of the house and down to the pub, leaving those vile little bastards to knock on your front door – preferably in sub zero temperatures - in vain. Just in case though, take your car out of the driveway so they can’t slash its tyres. Oh, and keep your cat indoors.

Happy Halloween!

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Irish patriotism, the rich, and tax returns

Gombeen Man is often accused of being “unpatriotic”. As it happens, it’s one of the fairer criticisms aimed at this blog, and he is glad to pronounce himself guilty as charged. Mindless patriotism – and isn’t it mindless by necessity – and religion have been the two ever-present factors in war, persecution and division down the ages. They both still exist only because we have not evolved sufficiently as yet.

I remember reading a quote from Brendan Behan, of all people, some years back. Something to the effect that he was proud to be a Dubliner “so far as you can be proud of being born somewhere”. Then there was a letter in Metro two weeks ago, of a lower literary elevation, where someone declared that they “loved being Irish”. What? As if it's a choice.

You won’t find any of that guff here - Gombeen Man is very definitely an internationalist. But while he cannot see the attraction of patriotism for the vast bulk of the populace, he can appreciate why the Irish “elite” might be well disposed towards it; and why Brian Lenihan might invoke it to appeal to the more stupid of the population at large.

An excellent piece by Fintan O’Toole appeared in yesterday’s Irish Times, entitled “Rich elite due a dose of patriotic punishment”. O’Toole compiled some telling statistics (some from a Bank of Ireland Private Banking report of last year) on the prolificacy of the “boom” years, bought on cheap credit and property-based tax incentives for the rich.

Some of the highlights are:

1% of the population in Ireland had assets of EUR 100 billion in 2006.

The top 1% owns 20% of the wealth, the top 2% owns 30%, and the top 5% owns 40%.

There were 33,000 millionaires in Ireland in 2006.

And most tellingly:

During the “Celtic Tiger” years (1995-07) the personal wealth of the top 1% of the population grew by EUR 75 billion.


That’s all pretty fascinating, isn’t it? And maybe if I was one of them I’d have a little tricolour flying over Gombeen Manor. Maybe I’d stand up for the national anthem? Maybe I’d start speaking Gaelic? OK, scrub the last two, at least.

Fascinating as those figures are, O'Toole - one of the few commentators worth reading - goes on to describe how Bank of Ireland’s figures seem to be at odds with those of Revenue. And bear with me here, as you must assimliate this information against a backdrop of Budget cuts attacking pensioners, schoolchildren and ordinary working people.

It seems that Revenue can account for only 7,857 taxpayers with incomes of more than EUR 275,000 in Ireland, and only a paltry 25,000 who earn more than EUR 150,000. “In effect, we have, on the one hand, about 40,000 people sharing personal assets of EUR 100 billion and on the other we have fewer than 8,000 households with a declared taxable income of more than EUR 275,000”, O’Toole states.

So, what can we in Gombeen Nation conclude from the above? If there is really is such a black hole in the tax take, it would point to Revenue being a prime candidate for root-and-branch reform of certain Civil Service sectors. For on this evidence, it would seem that they do not bother to look beyond the easy target of the PAYE sector to raise taxes.

It also means the Government have a simple remedy for balancing the books. After years of using property tax shelters to distort the market and transfer wealth from the have-nots to the haves, they can always take the novel option of taxing the wealthy, who have become even more obscenely so thanks to the uniquely Irish, State-sponsored reverse socialism of the boom years.

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Perlico customer service – does it exist?

Gombeen Man has always felt that customer service and value in Ireland leave much to be desired. For example, Dunnes Stores only introduced changing rooms after the British shops moved here. Then, during the recent “boom” years, as consumers splashed borrowed cash about like drunken Monopoly players; paying the asking price, or above, for something was nearly seen as badge of honour.

It didn’t matter whether assets, goods, or services were in question. Discussing something as vulgar as the price was a sign of fiscal weakness for many. “What the hell! I’m flush. I can afford it!”, was the philosophy - with scant consideration to the constraints of reality.

With such a ready supply of lemming-like custom, who could blame our real-estate, retail, and licenced sectors enthusiastically extracting the yellowy fluid? They only had to name their inflated price, provide their shoddy, costly service - and still the public came back for more! Happy days!

It was during this time that Gombeen Man decided to sign up for broadband, choosing to take the Eircom route(er). Mistake. After a couple of weeks waiting for a codeword and a unsuccessful wrangle to keep his old Indigo email address, in order to avoid a moniker such as jsmith34343534334243@eircom.net (Eircom owned Indigo), the Gombeen Manor internet modernization project was dead in the water. Eircom said that the only way of keeping the old address was to pay for broadband and dial-up!

So, Perlico it was. No such complications on the matter of email addresses with Perlico – they simply didn’t supply them. By now, however, GM was resigned to losing his civvy email addy, and decided to go ahead regardless. Things were reasonably OK for a while, until sent emails began bouncing back on a regular basis. Having checked that similar mail delivered successfully from other sources, it was time to visit the Perlico site and their advertised e-mail customer support facility.

However, it seems that Perlico have much the same attitude to customer support queries as they do to dedicated email addresses… they just ignore their existence. Several have gone unanswered, so now it’s time to look around for another ISP. Mind you, in a country where there is as much genuine competition in the commercial sector as there is in the political one, it’s a tough, erm, call to make.

So what’s a cranky blogger to do in order to keep connected (given, "Anonymous" in comments, that I’m not going to stop the blog)? Can anyone advise?

Answers please, by comments or to: gombeenman(at)lookout(dot)ie

Affordable housing more expensive than unaffordable housing shock

According to today’s Irish Times, some so-called “affordable” housing is now more expensive than equivalent properties bought on the open market.

It seems that buyers can save EUR 10,000 on EUR 250,000 two bed apartments in Ongar, and EUR 5,000 on apartments in Mulhuddart by buying privately rather than through Fingal council’s “affordable” housing scheme. The same pattern is repeated in Meath and south Dublin.

If ever there was an argument for this in-the-pockets-of-the-developers Government to stop interfering in the housing market surely this is it? But if Brian Lenihan has his way, the taxpayer will soon be funding the Government's Home Choice Loan Scheme, in order to keep prices artificially high for builders.

If they would just leave it alone, all housing will become "affordable".

Irish Times article

The Property Pin

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See

The Budget, the Irish Government, the construction industry and the enabling public

THE BUDGET AND OUR BANANA REPUBLIC

or

HE WHO PAYS THE PIPER (excluding PAYE) CALLS THE TUNE

Gombeen Man has observed the tendency of many bloggers to become more bitter, twisted and cynical the longer they keep up their sites. Difficult, in GM’s case, you might well say… but is it any wonder?

This blog has been going for 15 months now, and as much as I might bilefully pummel my keyboard here in Gombeen Manor, the fact remains that the majority of Irish people are as thick as two very short (and) fat planks. This does not – of course – apply to the small and exclusive cadre of Gombeen Nation readers.

When I lived as an economic refugee in London between 1986 and 1995, I always reacted with vigour if anyone made a disparaging remark about my accent or nationality. But you know, I now believe that Bernard Manning and company might have had a point. We’re thick.

We have had a “patriotic” budget that sees us all paying a “levy” on our income, has increased the cost of motoring in a country where public transport is not an option for many, has taken the automatic medical cards from the elderly, has upped hospital charges, has increased VAT, and has even increased the immoral DIRT tax.

But to cap it all, and to confirm that Fianna Fail is bought and controlled by the property developers, it is introducing a “Home Choice Loan Scheme” which will give Government loans to first time buyers at more competitive rates and multiples than the banks will give.

Think about it – even after the financial crisis and bank bail outs, this Government is going to loan more irresponsibly to people than even the banks will! Only on newly built properties, mind, as the construction industry lobbied them to do this so they can sell off their unsold apartments.

So once again, this arsehole Government – voted in by arseholes – is going to continue meddling with the property mess it has made in the first place. No wonder building lobby head piper-payer, Tom Parlon, is reported to have walked with a spring in his step in Buswell’s Hotel prior to the budget being announced.

It’s unbelievable – it really, really is. In Metro yesterday morning, there was a letter from “Dave” saying he wasn’t going to vote “yes” to Lisbon should it come up again. The funny thing is, if they had another general election tomorrow, the self-same idiots would rush out and vote the same corrupt Fianna Fail government in again.

So, is there any explanation for this other than sheer stupidity?

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Brian Lenihan's Budget - "a call to patriotic action"

The newspapers, radio, TV and blogosphere will be full of comment on yesterday's budget, so Gombeen Nation will confine itself to a brief remark on the subject.

Be afraid - be very afraid, people - of anyone that presents anything as "a call to patriotic action".

Hasn't Lenihan heard Samuel Johnson's famous quote that "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"?



Entirely predictable: how McCreevy and Cowen led us into this mess

The Irish Times comprehensive guide to Budget 2009

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Gay Byrne calls for speed cameras. Again.

Road deaths are at historically low levels, having been on a downward trend for the past decade or more, but you would not believe it listening to those who work in the Road Safety Industry.

Road Safety Authority (RSA) chairman Gay Byrne continues to act as cheerleader for private speed camera companies looking to screw yet more money out of the Irish motorist. Gombeen Man had hoped Byrne would disappear from our hand-held radar when he retired from the risible Late Late Show, but that was obviously hoping for too much.

There seems to be an Irish obsession with the issue of speed. “Speed kills” the mantra goes - but surely bad driving kills? A large part of Germany’s Autobahn system has no mandatory speed limit, yet they are the safest roads in that country.

Byrne’s stupid pronouncements on speed cameras ignore the drink-driving culture that is still alive and well in Ireland - at least until the next single-vehicle crash into a ditch or a wall, that is.

A study carried out between 2003-2005 shows that 31% of road deaths in that period were alcohol-related. However, it seems that no blood alcohol samples were taken in another one-third of accidents, so the true figure is certainly higher.

In view of this bombshell, why are Byrne and the RSA focusing on making people watch their speedos rather than the road ahead? Why are they more interested in the pettiness of hitting people with points and fines for exceeding speed limits by a few Kph – often on good roads with inappropriately low speed limits? Will that really “save lives”? No, it won’t

Instead, they should concentrate on driver education (lane usage, for example), and full alcohol testing at all accidents (to build a true picture of accident causes). And lastly, they should campaign against the Government’s scandalous VRT tax which penalises life-saving safety features such as skid-avoidance technology.


Oh, and Gay Byrne should just butt out of our lives for good.

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Simon calls for Government to purchase unsold apartments

The Simon Community is an organisation that does some excellent work for the homeless people of this country. Its volunteers provide a crucial service to those who find themselves living rough, and the organisation's stated aim is to eradicate homelessness.

However, Gombeen Man is not convinced of the wisdom of its recent call for the Government to buy out apartments which are lying empty due to the long-overdue property crash - citing that such an initiative would increase the social and affordable housing stock, while simultaneously giving a "boost" to the construction sector.

Property developers - driven by insatiable greed - continually welshed on obligations to provide a social and affordable element in new housing projects - especially in "better" areas. They made untold profits during the Government-sponsored "boom", and now we are being asked - as taxpayers - to put our hands in our pockets to buy their unsold stock. And this just after every Irish citizen has become a guarantor for the careless loans of massively profitable banks! (Lots more on this and other property-related issues elsewhere on the site).

The ironic thing is, the need for social and affordable housing grew during the property boom, as more and more people became squeezed out of an overpriced market, and the number of people who found themselves homeless grew exponentially.

There will always be a need for the State to stop people falling into the poverty trap, or from ending on the streets through eviction, through family problems, through mental illness, drugs, or through myriad other reasons. And groups like Simon should ensure the Government fulfills its responsibilities in this regard. But as far as housing, in general, goes - the only way it will become "affordable" again, is to simply let prices sink back down to realistic levels, where people don't need Government support to buy a place to live in.

Simon's suggestion would amount to charity for speculators and developers.

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Irish house prices drop but the penny does not

Gombeen Man has always been of the opinion that Ireland’s longest running conflict has been the particularly long war between fantasy and reality - and in any war, the first casualty is truth.

The latest Daft.ie house price report states that the national average house price is EUR 312,500 – down nearly 11% on last year. In GM’s Dublin 15 stomping ground, which has seen massive development in recent years, this figure is well over 20%, according to his observations. And they are still not selling.

UCD economics lecturer Moore McDowell is quoted as saying that while the figures “point to a continuous slide in prices overall” it seems that “sellers are not adjusting their asking prices sufficiently to clear the market. The slow adjustment of expectations to reality is illustrated by the gap that has now emerged between asking prices for houses just put on the market and those for houses that have been on the market for a quarter or more”.

Which brings us to the original point. It seems that vendors want to sell at 2006 prices, and buy for 2008 money. A “logic” firmly grounded in their own unrealistic expectations rather than objective reality.

House prices are falling to real-world levels at last – but the penny has not dropped for some vendors just yet.

See also: Property crash and economic slowdown, Part 2

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GAA, the Belfast Hilton and discrimination

Irish history is full of martyrs. Nothing will make a patriot bristle with dewy-eyed pride as much as tales of death, glory and the odd blood sacrifice - and the more bloody and futile, the better.

Alas, with the outbreak of peace, it seems that the put-upon-victim has taken the martyr's place. Witness the following story on the excellent Irland Inside blog http://irlandinside.blogspot.com/2008/10/jaccuse-ilton.html

The piece (in German, with a link to the RTE report) tells of a disgruntled guest who is suing the Belfast Hilton hotel for showing the Chelsea v Manchester United match in preference to the GAA all-Ireland final in Croke Park. The GAA fan is suing for "discrimination", claiming the choice was an affront to his "dignity" and "national identity".

Funny. Is this man a supporter of the same GAA that banned "foreign" games from its largely taxpayer-funded main stadium, until it came under political pressure? The same GAA that banned members of "the security forces" from joining its enlightened ranks? The same GAA that forbade its own followers from playing soccer, on pain of expulsion? The same GAA that is thwarting Shamrock Rovers' attempts to open a modest stadium in Tallaght? Well, indeed it is!

Discrimination. Sure GAA fans should know that when they see it.

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Maynooth Line, skangers, Irish bank bail-outs

Coming home from work on the PAYE sector slavey-train the other evening, Gombeen Man was dismayed to hear the driver announce “I’d like to inform passengers that there have been reports of stone-throwing between Glasnevin Junction and Broombridge. I repeat - there have been reports of stone-throwing between Glasnevin Junction and Broombridge”. The clear inference was that we were all to get ready to duck.

Two points come to mind here, the first being a question. Namely, where are the Piggies when they aren’t at the market, or dishing out penalty points (for minor traffic infringements) to mugs like us? Given that the previous train passed through the war zone a good half-hour beforehand, surely there was time for the boys and girls in blue to mobilise and apprehend any skangers engaged in hurling rocks at passing trains? Is it really too much to ask?

The second point is a social observation. Namely, that ordinary working people seem to constitute the meat in the sandwich between the skanger underclass on one side, and the business lord-it-over-us class on the other.

We are the ones who fund the social welfare system, which in turn keeps the aforementioned shell-suited idlers sufficiently nourished to pepper us with missiles as we return from work.

We are the ones who (or many us, at least) are spread-eagled over a financial barrel for our foreseeable working lives, with a large jar of Vaseline placed between our ankles - slaves to 35-year mortgages for the privilege of living in godforsaken kips.

And who are we paying the mortgages to? I’ll tell you. Greedy financial institutions grown rich, complacent and fat on a property bubble inflated by Government tax shelters and tax avoidance schemes for property developers and investors. And now we must act as guarantors for them should their investments not work out, and a bank (or two) go bust through bad debts and careless lending (see elsewhere on this site).

Bob Geldof wrote “Banana Republic, septic isle… great to see the place again, it’s a pity nothing’s changed”. And he was spot on. Despite the boom that was to float all boats, we still have the social problems we had twenty years ago, and we still have the “Golden Circle” pulling the strings of our politicians.

And we’re all so pleased with ourselves.

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Government bails out Irish Banks in financial crisis

It is interesting to note that while the US Congress debated and turned down – for now – a proposed 700 Billion Dollar bailout for its banking system, the Irish Government has pushed through a measure which will hold taxpayers responsible for banks’ liabilities, should one or more of them go under. And the first thing we knew about it was when we woke up this morning to reports of the Government’s largesse with our tax money.

The Irish business and landlord class has got to be one of the most pampered in the world, at this rate. Landlords and property developers have benefited from State subsidies and tax breaks for years, leading to asset price inflation funded by reckless borrowing and careless lending. And all the time, the impression given was that our economy’s boom was the result of some new-found, go-getting entrepreneurial spirit that had hitherto lain dormant in the collective Irish psyche.

Actually, despite what the advocates of simplistic right-wing economic “theory” maintained, it was caused by the exact opposite: State socialism for the wealthy, in the form of distorting the tax system and corporatism via the IDA’s inward investment campaign. And let's not mention all the subsidies from the “socialist” EU.

Now the pick-and-mix approach to laissez-faire is well and truly exposed, as the State effectively immunizes the banks from the worst effects of their imprudence. It should be remembered that Irish banks are among Europe’s most profitable. AIB, alone, reported pre-tax profits of EUR1.28 billion for the first half of this year, while bank bosses have enjoyed extravagant financial rewards for leading their businesses into the worst financial mess in living memory.

Privatising profit and nationalising loss – Irish style.

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Buyer beware of specialist car dealers.

Well, the official figures now confirm what the less credulous of us have believed for some time. We are in recession. So time for Gombeen Man to do an Eddie Hobbs and don the mantle of consumer champion.

Those of us who don't work in construction - and hence have some chance of keeping our jobs for now - had better be careful if looking to make a purchase that might involve putting down a deposit (such as a house or a car), given the increased chances of businesses going to the wall in economic climes such as these. Margins are tight, and credit is expensive, and banks are slowly facing the reality of having to call in their debts.

Coy as the banks might be, there is a plethora of builders on the edge out there - maxed out and ready to fold. So, if you are someone who has been priced out of buying a home due to Government tax incentives/shelters for investors over the past goodness knows how many years, just be careful not to get suckered at the last.

Cars too. Particularly if you looking to buy new from an independent dealer. A couple of months back, Orwell Motors - a long established Dublin dealershop - hit the wall. Echoing independent dealership Parkwest Autopoint, which went into receivership leaving customers with lost deposits of up to EUR 5,000, as the boom hit its zenith in 2006. Interestingly, the man behind Parkwest - Kevin Flynn - is now in business again under the guise of Kevin Flynn Specialist Cars (KFSC), operating out of Grand Canal Street, importing simlar models as he did in his Parkwest incarnation.

And while it is perfectly legal to go bust with punters' deposits, and start again in an identical business with a different name under Irish business law, it somehow doesn't seem quite right. Not for the consumer anyway, who gets scant enough protection in this country anway.

Top tip: if you're buying a new car, do so from an official dealer - that way you are protected by the manufacturer should the dealership go bust.

If you are buying a new house - just wait. They're going to get cheaper anyway, and most of the cowboys will be flushed out in the next year or so.

Eeehh-haaaa!!!!

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Keane to walk out... again?

Whingeing psycho extraordinaire, Roy Keane, looks set to throw another wobbler, with rumours that he may leave Sunderland.

Regular visitors to this site will know that Gombeen Man is not the most patriotic of people, but even he can't forgive Keane for manufacturing his own departure from our last World Cup finals in Saipan. More puzzling is how this self-serving nutter is still considered something of a hero by many in Ireland, despite having let us down on the biggest stage imaginable, and despite having made a total of only 66 international appearances in his long career (Kevin Kilbane has made 90 so far).

Now it seems that Keane, who was (and is) never found hiding behind the door when it comes to dishing out abuse, is upset that some Sunderland fans are becoming impatient with his progress, or lack thereof, at their club.

Keane, who famously described Ireland boss of the time, Mick McCarthy, as a "shit manager", has spent a lot of money at Sunderland, some of it on rather questionable purchases. Things came to a head when Premier League Sunderland struggled to dispatch League One side Northampton, due to some dodgy team selections on Keane's behalf. Reacting to fans’ criticism, the Corkman stated, somewhat confusingly: "...The abuse, I know it is part of football, don't get me wrong, but that is something I won't tolerate...".

What? Does that statement make any kind of sense whatsoever? If it’s part of football, surely he has to tolerate it? It seems Keane can dish it out alright, but he's not so good at taking it.

Sunderland fans, I wouldn’t be too disappointed when he goes.

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Back in Gombeen Nation

Just a quick post to signal Gombeen Man's return to his native little land. Can't believe it's not raining.

Thanks to those who posted comments in my absence - I've only got round to publishing them now, as I have the spam filter thing on.

Trying to catch up with what's being going on here over the past two weeks, so hopefully more substantial posts will follow soon!

Wish I wasn't here

That's it. Enough.

Between Lisbon "no" voters, "European Army" conscription theorists, Little Irelander racists, Gaelscoil educational system imperialists, skangers, builders pulling Puppet Cowen's strings, the continuing scandal of VRT, Bono, and everything else, it's all become too much. Then throw in the most miserable Summer ever - one that that makes the backdrop of Angela's Ashes seem Mediterranean by comparison. So...

Gombeen Man is off on two weeks hols - and no, not to the Gaeltacht. And he's not going anywhere near an Internet cafe, either.

Who knows what's going to happen in our little gombeen land when he's away, but for two weeks he won't care. Anyway, there's sure to be plenty to write about when he comes back.

In the meantime, those of a questioning, critical persuasion could do worse than check out the links on the bottom left.

Cheers for now!!!!

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M50 taking its toll on Irish drivers

What's the official line on Ireland's attractiveness for the multinationals? It's because we are a young, intelligent, educated workforce, isn't it? Nothing, of course, to do with us prostituting ourselves by means of corporate tax breaks. A ploy, by the way, that the new EU accession states will soon copy - leaving the Irish begging, somewhat belatedly, for a common EU-wide tax policy.

But whatever about all that, perhaps it is best that US Inc. does not hear about some Irish drivers' cunning ruse to avoid paying tolls on M50, which has just switched from toll booths to electronic barrier-free tolling, by means of tags and number plate recognition.

While avoiding paying tolls on the M50 is commendable - after all, we motorists have paid for the West Link bridge a thousandfold by now, after dodgy Government dealings with private sector cronies - even Gombeen Man was embarrassed at the lack of guile displayed by motorists in this instance.

It seems that the would-be rebels covered their registration plates to avoid the cameras catching them. So far, so good, I hear you say.

So how did our intrepid authorities find them out? By advanced digital photographic enhancement? Clever police work? Fellow roadusers phoning Traffic Watch on their mobiles, as they drive?

No. It seems that they only covered their cars' front plates, leaving the the rear ones untouched for the cameras to capture all. There's no hope, there really isn't.

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Developer offers interest free loans

Property developer Bernard McNamara is offering interest-free loans of "up to 30 per cent" of the selling price in an attempt to attract suckers, I mean buyers, to his new development at Elm Park, Dublin 4.

Under the scheme, the asking price for two-bed apartments has been reduced from EUR580,000 (!!!) to the bargain basement level of EUR470,000. Think about that. EUR470,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. Does that still not seem a touch expensive?

It seems that developers will do anything to stimulate interest in their wares other than reduce prices to truly realistic levels. Gombeen Man believes properly prices will have to fall by 50% in order for them to return to a point where ordinary people can afford to buy into the market.

No amount of tinkering or window dressing, by property developers or Government, is going to change that.

See also Cowen to "help" first-time-buyers

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Cowen to "help" first time buyers

Political U-turn specialist Brian Cowen - who has previously given in to lobbying by Fianna Fail's benefactors, the construction sector - has announced he is bringing the budget forward by two months. Furthermore, his budget will contain a "plan" to help first-time-buyers get on the still-too-expensive property ladder.

In previous budgets, Fianna Fail have reduced stamp duty to "stimulate the market" under pressure from builders. Never mind the fact that stamp duty rates had, up until then, presented no obstacle to rampant house price inflation, which reached its peak in 2006.

And what caused the inflation? The Government's continuous interference in the housing market through tax breaks and incentives for selected interest groups - Section 23 tax shelters, for example, which allowed investors with multiple properties to avoid paying tax on rental income and resulted in the market being flooded by speculators.

The problem with tax intervention is that fact that it distorts the market, by making property more affordable - through subsidy - for some sectors of the population (investors, for instance) and hence more expensive for others, as it feeds into real prices.

So what is Cowen going to do to help his construction industry friends? I mean help first time buyers?

Fianna Fail has already scrapped stamp duty for this sector, meaning that a first-time-buyer can buy a terraced starter home on Wellington Road for EUR 4,000,000 and not pay any stamp duty on it. So what further help do they need? It seems that he is looking at further grants and subsidies, which must be funded by someone. In this case, those who want to trade up.

The answer is that Cowen should stop interfering in the market and simply let the overpriced property market drop back down to a level where ordinary people people can afford to buy homes again. Simple.

I think they call it market forces.

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Gary Glitter to move to Ireland

All that glitters is not gold, and certainly not in the case of convicted paedophile Gary Glitter, who is considering a move to Ireland. Not, as you might think, because of Ireland's very tolerant attitude to child abuse, as evidenced by Church/State cover-ups over the years, but because Gary feels that he has a better chance of being "left alone" by the media here.

No doubt, another attraction will be Ireland's favourable fiscal regime for "artists", which will allow him to earn EUR 250,000 a year royalties, without having to pay a cent tax on any of it. And maybe tax-dodging hypocrite extraordinaire Bono might advise him how to reduce any liability should Glitter exceed that amount?

Gombeen Man has long opposed the Artists' Exemption Tax, and sees it as another argument - along with Vehicle Registration Tax - for a common, Europe-wide approach on taxation.

It's bad enough attracting run-of-the-mill tax-dodging "artists" to the country, but Gary Glitter really is a platform-shod step too far.

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