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A LEAKED DOCUMENT has suggested that Ireland could require a mini-budget this year to implement further cuts.
A document leaked to the German parliament and seen by Bloomberg today has suggested the need for further fiscal tightening later this year if there is “further deterioration of the macroeconomic backdrop”.
The Department of Finance declined to comment on the document when contacted by TheJournal.ie this evening but confirmed its authenticity as a draft document which would be published by the European Commission tomorrow.
“The Commission staff report is being considered by Senior Officials from European Finance Ministries today and is due to be published tomorrow,” a statement said.
“The key programme documents including the Letter of Intent and the accompanying documents associated with the 5th review of the Irish Programme were published on the Department of Finance website on the 14th of February.”
Last November, documents leaked to the German parliament revealed the extent of the budget adjustments that were to be made the following month with the rise in VAT confirmed in Germany before it was disclosed in Ireland.
Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty has said it is “deeply troubling” that news of a possible mini-budget has been leaked to the finance committee of the German parliament before it was disclosed here.
“It is deeply troubling that yet again German Parliamentarians know more about the details of the Troika’s austerity programme in Ireland that elected Irish politicians.
He called on the Taoiseach to explain why the German parliament is discussing this document “before we have been given the chance to discuss it, and to state what he knows about the commission’s views on a mini budget.”
The government still anticipates that the €3.8 billion adjustment announced in last December’s budget will be sufficient to meet the targets laid down by the Troika that the budget shortfall be narrowed to 8.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012.
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Sky can duck off
@Joe Bloggs: what ever happened to conversation in a pub
@iohanx:
What about having a conversation about the match that’s on?
Absolute joke the price they charge a pub for sports.
@scutterpumps: absolute joke the amount Sky are forced to pay for the right to broadcast these sports events.
@Dave Doyle: They’re not forced… they bid for it.
@Dave Doyle: Sky are the ones that drove the prices up themselves!!!
@scutterpumps: we wanted to get it for our staff canteen and they wanted to charge similar prices. Joke of a company.
@Dave Doyle: With that one comment you have just proved to me and many others that use this forum what a spoofer you are. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and you have just proven what little knowledge you have about the topic being discussed.
@Declan McGee: if we didn’t want to watch it and didn’t pay for it then the TV companies wouldn’t be able to pay.In the case of the pubs it is the same. If a pub did not have the match on would we go? I worked in a very traditional pub in Dublin City Centre during World Cup 1994. It was like a ghost town as they didn’t have (and still don’t have) a TV. It was the same on days of big Prem League matches. The owner is not after profit and keeps the pub as a hobby as much as anything, but if he wanted profit he would need to get the football.
@John Travers: and the pub or the public are not forced to watch it….we choose to pay either a subscription or buying drinks at the pub.
Publicans moaning yet again…. The government in the past few years have cut back on off license opening times, reduced VAT and are now going to bring the price of a can of the cheapest crappiest beer to nearly 3 quid to keep them onside.
Extortionate prices are what is keeping people out of pubs. If the prices of sky came down do you think the price of a pint would too ? Not a chance
@Philip Morgan: do your research. Publicans dont dictate the prices. Its the breweries. Publican makes alot less than 90cent on a pint in rural ireland.
@James J Mc Ardle: wouldn’t have anything to do with the VFI…
@Philip Morgan: The publicans will use any excuse to put the charge on to the customer
@James J Mc Ardle: how much do they make on the 5.50 they charge for a pint of rock shandy….the soft drink – that has no alcohol taxes or duties – they absolutely DO dictate the prices they charge for those and its bloody extortionate.
@Dave Hammond: same with Heineken zero €4.90 for a bottle what a joke.
@Dave Hammond: fair enough o. Rock shandy. I sell maybe 2 a month. Guiness 4.30 apint costs me over 2.20 to buy. Tax man takes 1.05 of each pint. Leaving 1.05 to the rural publican. Before wages esb phone sky insurance. Rock shandy as quoted 560. Here it 480. Tax 120. Cost to publican is150 so profit is 210. So i need to sell five per hour to pay 1 persons wage. And finally vfi are useless
@Michael Mulcahy: no chance they with the breweries
@Philip Morgan: cheapest i can buy slab of cider is 45 plus vat. Joe public in supermarket same product is 30. Only thing bring pint down is costs. Breweries. Average keg has nearly doubled in 15 yrs. Rev take 23 of all sales. Why you think so many pubs closed down
@James J Mc Ardle: it’s gas the punter thinks a pub is a license to print money! If it’s so lucrative why don’t they buy one! It’s a tough business with high costs. The VFI are not some secret club that we’re all in. They’re a waste of money joining!
@James J Mc Ardle: VFI set prices
@Dave Hammond: sugar tax!
@James J Mc Ardle: can you not buy the slab in the supermarket @ €30 or do you have to buy from the brewery? Genuine question
@Dermot Lane: supermarket have €2 ring on top. Plus no vat reciept in supermarket
@James J Mc Ardle: thanks for feedback and insightful numbers – which only shows that you DO charge extortionate prices for the non alcoholic option – based in your numbers you want TWICE the profit margin on a pint of rock shandy ? So if I drive to the pub and can’t drink and have to choose the non alco option you are making twice the profit per pint ? And you think it’s smart business ? Have you ever questioned why you can only manage to sell two in a month ? You don’t think that in this day and age with all the problems facing public and and drinking laws this is smart business. Customers like me know that if I drive to pub and watch a game it’s 11 euro for two rock shandy – pubs making twice as much profit than on pints , and you can’t see why I think your pricing is extortionate ?
@GerryCummins: nonsense the 550 was before the sugar tax and he confirmed based in his own numbers they make twice the profit on pints of rock shandy – and wonder why people are buying so few of them ?? The mentality is breathtaking – in this era of heavier drunk driving pressures they insist on jacking up prices for non alcoholic drinks , so it’s 11 euro for two rock shandy in my local and they are just ripping us off and they can’t see that the concept of lowering prices might sell more – they only know one pricing model – jack up prices rip off customers and then moan about everything else
@James J Mc Ardle: so what if you don’t get a vat receipt if your saving 33% on the cost and vat is 21%
@James J Mc Ardle: most shops and supermarkets are more than happy to provide a vat receipt. In fact most of their receipts are vat receipts
@Philip Morgan: god Philip you are clueless from person who is a 3rd generation publican
Sky, for all their excellent coverage, are slowly but surely pricing the average guy out of watching the game, too expensive to watch at home, and seems soon to be too expensive to watch it at the local
@Pixie McMullen: I couldn’t agree more. And fans should vote with their feet and just stay away. If a match is only on Sky or BT (which I don’t have) then I give it a miss. I don’t go to the pub as I feel I pay enough for tv license, Netflix, broadband, etc and I don’t want to bring my young lad into a pub atmosphere. I just give it a miss. Simple as.
@Pixie McMullen:
If you think it’s too expensive don’t pay it. It’s only worth what people are willing to pay. If people vote with their feet the price will come down.
Sky could do everything for a hell of a lot cheaper. We’re being totally ripped off here for tv services but nothing new there. But if you ring them to disconnect or remove channels they will do a deal with you. Surprise surprise
@Declan Moran: totally agree….alot of pubs in tha west use the residential element tho
@Declan Moran: could they whats their P&L like?
The Grab All Association are as much to blame, selling themselves to this “sly” crowd, adding additional costs to already struggling pubs.
I don’t sympathise with the pubs, as it’s a service offered by a private company. That said, I don’t sympathise with sky either. That fee is insane, especially for smaller establishments.
Too expensive for the private home too. IPTV is the only job for the private home. All channels plus extra that Sky don’t have for €10 a month.
@Delta Ball: Also illegal.
Much like with normal customers sky need to start offerring individual sport packages or league packages, doggedly sticking to the failing channel subscriotion model wont help them when more and more are ditching traditional telly and going to streaming only
@Ian McNally: they don’t do that in Ireland to Residential customers only in the UK can you choose your sports package
When Sky went down in my area about 3 years ago I called not realising iy was a premium rate phone number when my phone bill came in it was 80 euro on the call to Sky because they kept me on hold, I cancelled my subscription imediatly
Very mean spirited of sky.
We pay at home too but we DO like to go out to the pub for the atmosphere .
Cop on sky.
I remember the Pint Glass stickers being stuck on TVs at one stage. The stickers probably cost more than what you’d buy an Android Box for now.
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: that’s why sometimes the pint glass is empty and sometimes it’s half full and sometimes it’s even full so they know if it is a sticker. Still catch you.
‘The 2 biggest drains on pub sky and insurance’
Sure they’re the 2 biggest cartels in this country the media and insurance!!
Iptv the way forward guys fxuk sly and there extorniate robbery got rid of.my premium channels 3 years haven’t looked back
@James Colgan: completely agree. Found a reliable provider €50 a year all the channels you could think of. Run it on a mag box and it’s as good as sly
@Dara Smith: enlightened us please
Its expensive but Pubs pay freely, they and their accountant surely think its value for money.
Surely Journal could do a bit more indepth – as two what sort of pubs are paying – why they feel they have to. Have any stopped paying and seen a drop in punters revenue.
Now now lads, its from the top down. Tv rights, manager fees, player wages, who do ye think are gonna pay for all of this, the punter of course, look at the price and frequency of the kits for kids. Its a joke. Sky business model is outdated but why change when people will pay? Need to look at alternatives.
we need to stand up to sky and everyone in Ireland cancel it
@Frankie Boylan: just like we done with the banks?
I do agree with you but we Irish are some crowd to roll over and take it.
Id love to see every pub go sky free for a month. But that call would have to come from VFI. And they are another spineless lot.
A smal victory for the quiet drinker who doesn’t wanna have their eardrums burst mid-week just cos 2 open-mouthed soccer fans think their sport takes precedence over everybody else!
If showing the football doesn’t bring in enough extra customers to be profitable then don’t show the football. If Sky are pricing themselves out of the market, they’ll review their prices.
Using the publicans excuse then the next time I feel the beer is too expensive, then I can just steal one.
The cost is the cost. If pubs can’t make money without Sky then they need to pay for it like everyone else. If they still can’t make enough money they should close down like any other business. If a clothing retailer started selling stolen clothes because it was too expensive to buy stock legitimately they would be going to jail. We in ireland have some romantic notion about pubs and farmers. They are businesses like any other and if the are unprofitable they should close just like any other, not be given special treatment because we have fond memories.
May as well get rid of it now as Air have hun cup and great selections too Sky are a joke and cost is mad get an android box all and stream away is what I say..
In the wale of TV licence brouhaha and all that, I gave up watching tele completely and donated my flat screen to a local charity and it was the BEST social and life improving decision ever.
Read broadsheets.
3 swear words gets the toxicity meter up to 10/10 this one is a 1.7/10
Sky #robbingbasxxxds
Pubs, Super Pubs, Sports Pubs and Hotel pay a similar charge to the Government for a Broadcasting Fee as a Private dwelling.Do you think that is fair. I pay a licence fee the exact same amount as all of the above.
Sky is a second mortguage. Its possible to live without it.
Sky will never learn. Increasing your charges to cover court cases will NOT combat piracy, it will only cause more to pirate
have your say