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EVERY WEEKEND, TheJournal.ie gives its readers the chance to put their feet up and take a look back at all the goings-on from the world of business.
Once again it’s time to delve deep inside The Briefcase for the important – and sometimes less-important – financial news that has come out this working week:
Everyone learned the names Brian O’Donnell and the New Land League. The solicitor-turned developer and his wife spent the week holed up in their Gorse Hill mansion after refusing to hand over the property to the Bank Of Ireland. The bank has been trying to repossess on debts claimed to be worth €70 million, but the self-styled New Land League went in to bat for the former high flyer in the property fight, blocking access
Absenteeism in the public service is “unacceptable”. That’s according to the boss of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which released figures showing the departments where staff were taking the most sick days on average. The top slot went to the Property Registration Authority, where the figure was 13.96 days a year
Singapore is the most expensive city in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated the Asian city-state the highest-cost location for expats, nudging out Paris and Oslo. Meanwhile, Vienna was rated the most “liveable” place on the planet with Dublin coming in at only 34th on the list – although that was higher than anywhere else in the UK or Ireland
O2 was finally erased from the face of Ireland. The telecoms company, which was bought out by Three Ireland last year, was officially rebranded as part of its new owner this week. And customers shouldn’t expect too much change, except their local store might be gone after 42 out of the combined company’s 110 outlets were shut
Ireland should “embrace” a population of 10 million. Business lobby group Ibec said the number of inhabitants on the island was expected to hit that figure before 2050 and that would present “new and exciting opportunities” – as long as governments started spending money now on infrastructure
Dublin hotels are about to get a whole lot pricier. Costs in the capital are forecast to rise faster than anywhere else in Europe this year and the next, according to PwC. But things could be a lot worse – Dublin is a long way off being in the same league as Paris, the most expensive destination on the list
Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world – and getting richer. The annual Forbest rich list put the Microsoft founder’s net worth at $79.2 billion, ahead of Mexican telecoms mogul Carlos Slim Helu. Irish tycoon Denis O’Brien just sneaked into the top 200 with a personal fortune of $6.8 billion
Ryanair unveiled a new “customer charter” – but won’t lose the “Sex Pistols attitude”. This week the low-cost carrier announced a string of changes including new interiors, uniforms and some lower charges. Don’t worry about the company getting too cuddly though, its marketing chief says Ryanair isn’t setting out to be loved by customers
If the words “yeah yeah yeah funky yeah” mean anything to you, then you probably remember a little track called Maniac 2000.
The Mark McCabe track, described by its own creator as “badly produced and so badly recorded”, hit the top of the Irish charts 15 years ago.
Here’s a walk down memory lane:
First published 07.45
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The Land league didn’t have their best week really, what with the plonker on VB and the other clown getting his foot run over by O’Donnell………Not the sharpest knives in the drawer.
At least they are being exposed for what they are
Why weren’t they in Limerick Courthouse for all the evictions listed there ?
Are these shower just another of hose “High profile we’ve got it covered ” – to prevent others from really sorting it out political Insiders?
NAMA will provide the answers ……
Remember Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and Labour have dominated politics in Ireland by the “in the absence of all others ” media dominated strategy .
There are 250,000 people in Connacht Ulster that have woken up from that spell !
A shower of scammers. I heard they are being used in domestics where a couple separate and one party wants to sell they are used to try and stop a sale.
Horrid people a real own goal by o donnell
Mark it’s the New Land League. They have nothing to do with the Land League. These are more interested in fighting for the Landlord type than the Tenant. They do not speak for or represent members of the National Land League. Jerry Beades is a crony of Bertie Ahern and owed millions at one stage himself. Something like 16 million. Not sure if it was paid back. He uses the ideals of the Land League to benefit the elite as was seen recently. They have given the Land League a bad name. Shame on them.
Strange because tom D’Arcy on liveline this week said that the two were essentially the same organisation
Divide and conquer ..
I don’t care what the loan details are for a family home …
An irish citizens home is their home – some worked hard or smart during the boom and got big houses – others got different houses …so what !
Did Sean Quinn a man who has two years to pay back 20,000 on billions of debt get thrown out of his home while Eire’s children have to witness the scourge that austerity brings as a result of foreign banks who were ably helped by some very dodgy Irish people in suits ….. wrecked our economy !
Investment property with unsustainable debt – repossession order – no problem with that …
But a home is the temple of the child and Jesus threw the money lenders out of the Temple – to put it one way !
If it’s the same Tom D’Arcy that is in DDI and a former developer who owes millions himself then of course he’d say they are essentially the same organisation. Strength in weight of numbers. The Article itself makes the difference by naming the New Land League. Unfortunately people are not sure on who’s who. I can tell you that there is a huge difference in the New Land League and the National Land League. I can assure you I wouldn’t be standing in front of a guys house who owes millions protecting him from eviction. I’m there to help people who are struggling to pay back a mortgage or can’t pay a mortgage due to unforeseen circumstances because of the greedy developers and bankers who destroyed the nation by having house prices at an obscene high.
@mark
To be honest, I thought VB was a down right embarrassment. Whatever about pushing his way in to the property itself; that’s all good for everyone out there!
His discussion with J.Beades (if I have his name correct) wasn’t professional. It was personal to him… And it was very obvious.
VB is also coming across as a bit of a hypocrite in this particular case.
VB lost control. And it SUCKED DICK baby.
Michael Davitt would be spinning in his grave. It’s sickening. The very sort of elite land-owner that the land league was set up to protect us from. Where’s all the publicity for the hundreds of genuinely homeless families who own literally nothing?
Not referring to any specific case. Just a general observation.
The O’Donnells of this world would piss down on the The new Land League mob if the shoe was on the other foot.
For a fee of course !
Having said that – if what the land league guy said is true about what Bank of Ireland did with 35 million quids worth of property for one pound then whatever about the O’Donnells then BOI needs far more sorting than the O’Donnells …….
After all the country was broke to save Ricchie Boucher’s ass !
This is only the lid of the can of worms and with whistleblower Banking legislation to come on line perhaps what should be done is for support from others to be moved to Courts – the judges have been left to their own devices for a little too long without the public actually seeing what they are up to – legally that is !
“Two fat geese ” have smelt a besuited rat methinks !
Why can you not comment on the o donnell saga
I would guess as it is an ongoing case the Journal could be held in contempt when some of the more colorful posters get going. :)
Because anyone using the title of the Land League for the cream of the cream and to hell with the poor would be made a joke off on here?
To me it looks like because he is (was) wealthy he ll get away wit it if he was an ordinary joe soap the house wud be sold by now
I seriously doubt it…
I ,too,live in a ‘bog standard’ abode .
Good man Oggie – do you cut turf ?
Be careful there’s moves afoot to take them as well – well there was at any rate but that has screeched to a halt !
Hermes, we have been stopped cutting turf a few years now. We have all these fine resourses on our doorsreps, like our rivers, our bogs, our land, our seas and not able to avail of any of them. Something wrong with this.
Oggie. If their idea of a mansion on knobs road, a bog standard house, then my little home is like their utility room. And if the crowd from the land league, think that O Donnell and family would be grateful, i am afraid they are in for a shock. The O Donnells dont socialize with the working classes. And the one who made a fool of himself on VB, is a sadly deluded soul.
Con the answer to your quest is the mineral licences handed out by the Department of Environment – the crew behind the attempted closing of the bogs !
I wouldn’t like to be holding a licence for mineral extraction in Ireland right now – and no referendum on any of it and farmers seeing their incomes hammered —
The great thing about snakes is that they move very slowly and tend to coagulate in nests …..
The Land League for those who only have millions, they be turning in their graves…
Who owe millions I should state.
The land league havent done themselves any favours, by backing the O Donnells.
Part of the bottom 10% and a big part of the top 1% of this country have one thing in common : a sense of entitlement that the rules don’t apply to them Jayo is entitled for working people to fund his choice of a welfare lifestyle with half their confiscated wages, Mr X is entitled to have those same people drown their grand-kids in debt in order to bail him out from his reckless gambling. Then, when either:
-We have the nerve to ask that Jayo maybe do something productive while getting that money
-Ask that maybe Mr X’s debts, them being not ours in the first place, can be written down a little as they are financially crippling the country…
…..we get spoken to like the bums, the idiot middle, as always, paying for everything, getting nothing, propping up two groups of self-entitled a-holes.
As I understand it neither the O Donells or any of their children owe BOI any money but Wilbur Ross made 477 million from BOI go figure
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