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THE PRESIDENT OF the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, has hailed Ireland’s performance in implementing economic reforms in a speech to a conference in Italy.
Van Rompuy was speaking to attendees at the Ambrosetti Forum on the shores of Lake Como yesterday when he hailed the performance of Ireland, citing the country’s tentative return to the bond markets over the summer.
In a wide-ranging speech, Van Rompuy reiterated his belief that the eurozone will overcome its current problems.
He said that the current crisis has far from killed solidarity between European countries and insisted that instead it has “revealed what it takes to be a union”.
Van Rompuy said that the realisation of the extent of the problems facing the single currency and the continent coupled with the reforms being implemented by European nations had given him confidence that the crisis will be overcome.
He told attendees: “Ireland is making such good progress on all fronts that since July Dublin is back to the international bond markets, attracting considerable investment from the US.”
In July, the State raised €4.2 billion in its first sale of long-term government bonds since it entered an EU-IMF bailout two years ago.
Van Rompuy added that another reason to have confidence in the eurozone recovery was that the European powers remained ready to help “when help is needed”.
The former prime minister of Belgium also said that Greece had the support of other members of the single currency as long as it remained committed to staying in the euro.
“So long as Greece is committed to the euro, its partners will continue to fully support its efforts,” he said.
You can read Van Rompuy’s speech in full here.
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Thank you, thank you sir (head bowed, cap in hand) – sure isn’t it a grand soft day sir…….
Classic! :-)
He must be talking about the Paralympics, because the country is banjaxed.
Go back to bed you woke up in the wrong country. People are scrambling to become citizens of that great country called IRELAND.
You are correct, I woke up in Germany
Try and read his speech. If you’re having difficulty with the English don’t be ashamed and ask a friend.
“Good boys and girls”, as we are patted patronisingly on the head, the lap dogs from fg lap up the praise from their masters as Lucinda and Brian etc dream of their cushy euro number in the sun. “who cares about sending the sick and elderly home from hospital” they think to themselves, “we’ve got a gold star from the euro weenies, and sher aren’t they who we have to please, not the people we wreak havoc upon, whilst earning handsomely from their taxes”. Keep paying debts that aren’t ours. Keep sending the sick and elderly home from hospital. Keep protecting vested interest groups from the mire. Keep rewarding ourselves. Keep the pats on the head coming. Keep protecting grossly incompetent ministers. Another day in The Emerald Isle, the laughing stock of the world!
Another patronising oaf that only deals in numbers. The pain that the less well off people in Ireland are going through is of no consequence to men like him. As long as we keep paying the bond holders, nothing else matters. We were told in July how our bank debt would be renegotiated in September. It seems that was just another grade A lie uttered by that Sap Kenny. I’m convinced that this Government will say anything, just to stay in power long enough to accrue full pension entitlements. Laws have to be made that enable people to hold politicians accountable, when they tell bare faced lies.
The fact he’s hailing economic reform just shows how out of touch he is with the thousands of Irish families in crisis now as a result. This is nothing to be celebrating or be proud about or even to be positive about.
Just wait and see who the first obedient Robot in Government will be the first to Utter this as an, “Achievement to date”. I can see the smug ass hole now listing it as a star on their copy book. This rhetoric makes me sick to death. Acheivements to date. Punishing and crippling taxes and increases to big corporations hiking up energy costs. Do they call that achievements. Its satanic form of achievement if you ask me.
Ah, wasn’t that nice of him to say! I feel like such a good little European Citizen this morning as a result.
Ya cause the goverment are bending over taking it from left right n centre from europe!
again, more indication that Ireland’s elected government and civil servants who deal with EU have not strongly fought for the Irish people but have acted as benign apologetic vassals and only sought to minimise the exposure and side effects on the irish political classes, neglecting the people they are meant to protect. No wonder we are adressed in such patronising terms but what makes it cut deeper is the deep seated feeling we ( Ireland) did not go down fighting. we have even been robbed of that by these apologist spineless representatives we call our leaders.
Anthony
You are so right and the huge majority of voters that put the present Government into office for five years are to blame . It’s so unfair that we don’t get another vote until then because we would be able to get them out and put in Clare Daly and Joe Higgins and Richard Boyd whatever and Gerry Adams.
Of course Gerry would be Taoiseach but he should also be Minister for Defence and Justice as that would save such a huge amount of limited resources.
With all his business experience we will ensure that Mick is Minister for Finance. He’d be great negotiating with the EU and the Troika and Joe would be Minister for Social Protection.
Sure wouldn’t we be out of this economic difficulty in jig time and all our work on theJournal will have been worth it. Oh Anthony you have such a wonderful mind I shiver with excitement at the thought of a new Posting from your …….phone ?
@Mick. thank you for totally missing the point and so carefully inserting your own unrelated fears. Bless you.
Mick what are you on? Must get some. I voted in one of the parties in government. Hands up my mistake. Who would you have suggested. Who would you vote for?
Yes, there are still a lot of people in crisis, which is bad. However, I absolutely do believe that there are things to be positive about. We will get through this and come out the other end. Of course people who are unemployed are in serious trouble, but let’s not forget for one minute that’s 86% of people are currently working.
Nice sentiments Danilos, however having a job doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not struggling to keep your head above water!
That is true Rodrigo, fair point.
Many who work are in fact worse off than those who can’t or won’t, as they have to pay for everything themselves, no free health, school transport etc
Try searching for #positiveireland on Twitter if you want to read about some of the good things that are happening in Ireland, whether it is small businesses being opened, new jobs being created or local initiatives. Even positive news stories on this website tend to be derailed by negative commentators.
see Danilo you mention coming through and out the other end. I submit that the poor and those suffering crippling taxes and cuts are already out the other end being S**t on for years.
Will do Ryan, Proceeding to bury head in sand as i speak.
Oh, maybe he’ll send Ireland some chocolates for being a good little country.
The President of the European Council? I don’t remember voting for him
your right. He’s unelected like the rest of the blood suckers.
That’s not praise for Ireland, that is bluff and bluster for the markets. It translates as “Ireland is doing well and you all thought they were f@#ked!”
There will be plenty more orchestrating of “positive” stories in the months ahead as they want to wean us off bailout money and get us borrowing in makets again , the so called”markets” don’t need to hear it they already know that when you lend to Ireland even the unsecured debts get repaid when everything goes tits up because we have spineless negotiators when the chips are down and all the tabs are picked up by the people , who now owe more money/ debt per head that all our European friends , thats apparently is our reward for being the good boys in the class
Thank you Ireland.
You guys continue to make me look good and hopefully the people that matter ie the markets will continue to believe I am not asleep at the helm of the gravy train.
The savage cuts and media blackout on your bondholder payments are just the tonic to keep me in my unelected position.
Once again I thank you and your courageous leaders.
yes why is there a media blackout on paying the bondholders. Why don’t we see headlines saying millions spent to bondholders again?
Patronising git… Progress at what cost….
This moron is at Lake Como. He is on his holidays. No different than Irish politicians on holidays beautiful surrounding no grasp on reality & is far removed from the troubled people of the EU. The last time I was at lake Como I slept in a truck.
A proud day to be Irish when an unelected twit missing half his hair says we’re doing a great job paying money back to bankers while some of us are not eating to pay our mortgages. Proud proud day.
That’s a bit silly…u really should eat before you put money into the mortgage…it will benefit you in the long term…or save the money u use for the Internet or phone and eat…but do eat..
If you stopped paying for the Internet you’d be able to buy some food!
hahahahahahahahahahahaha
stick your comments u old git, unlike the political class in Ireland the people of this country aren’t the EU’s personal bitches so get lost!
wat a load of tripe …. silly ol git …
Funny how they have been lecturing us about globalisation for decades…but they can never see the problem in other than national or European terms..
We need planetary solutions to planetary crises.
These Cro-Magnons haven’t got the message they’ve been delivering yet. Perhaps if they dropped all their media ‘advisers’ and spinmeisters they m ight find a brain-cell still capable of functioning. Then they might start to grasp the extent of the unsustainability of their failed system of infinite extraction from finite resources.
Ah we’re a great bunch of lads, who bailed out our fellow citizens who gambled money on property speculation
Lads, ye are offering no solutions to this, yer only posting guff here…if yer so unhappy here-put forward yer own plans to get this country up and going again…plans with substance….not stuff that will not work financially in the long term…cause like it or not thats wat the economy runs on… or ye could leave, and let the rest of stay and get this country going again. Only thing is that ye’ll find every other economy is run on financial terms too…so ye might find it difficult to find a place where money grows freely on trees…
How about a 10% cut in Social Protection Budget, 10% in Health, 10% in Education. That would save 4 Billion.
People gave enda and co plenty ideas on getting the country on an equal and fair way back make cuts to all sectors of society and close off things like tax loopholes, reduce pensions and pay offs etc………but of course this government like the last were told by the euro lot no no no we cant be punishing the poor rich/elite folk and the bondholders sure who else do we invite to dinner parties and golf outings and who else will drop us generous political donations. So instead this lot in power went on a mad rampage of turning the public against the private sector, employed against unemployed, young versus old etc. All the while giving billions to bankers and bondholders smashing wage caps for there advisers and buddies and refusing to bring people like semi-state bosses on 500k+ a year running loss making companies like CIE into line. So theres a few solutions to saving the country money but of course it won’t happen because the rich survive and rest of us are striving to financially survive under the new european way of doing things
Best comment yet. Irish media and the people they favour to give air time to have a strange list of Bad words Profit, Investor, personal-responsibility , optimism, can-do, and similar. But out of ”profits” are paid, wages, taxes, rates. PRSI, social welfare, service charges, public service wages and in fact everything.
@ pierse, I like that…social welfare needs to be means tested…defiantly too wide open, give it to those that need it that are willing to progress themselves on it via education or by doing charity work for experience…also give it to those that for various valid reasons that can’t participate in the afore mentioned tasks. The other two could be done quite simply by a reduction of wages to bring them in line with other countries…which is where we need to go to become viable again.
@ Tom, that’s more like it, yes..I agree that the semi state companies like CIE need to be run like a business… Yes they need to be restructured so that we don’t need to pump money into them…people need to get passed the unions who with their crazy demands are making companies like CIE bleed money, with little return..it’s amazing that you can see private operators run viable better service, at lower cost, profitably,with happy customers that come back for more…
sorry Mick nobody elected me to come up with solutions thats why I voted to try put in people who said they knew how to reform the system. Yes it was all lies but thats hindsight now.
but again the poor would be taking the hit more than anyone else. How about not paying the bondholders and saving billions.
There are lots of anti-Europe posts here. The Shinners were against our entry to the original Common Market and they remain anti-EU to this day. The only time they supported a ‘project’ in Europe was when they supported the Nazis in WWII. European democracy is anathema to their fascist principles where control can be exercised at gunpoint.
You probably won’t get any response, they’re still hungover from the funeral yesterday.
No hangover no funeral pretty lame statement something like Michael McDowell would say a truely spiteful and ignorant man close to a bigot.
I’ll take Michael McDowell any day over Gerry Adams.
I think you are correct Pierce. The low number thumbs down is very disappointing. I was expecting about 90 by now.
They are busy on a related article,
Herman Van Rompuy loves you he cares about you he wants a happy fulfilling life for you and your family where you are free to have the time not to be worried about the future, paying bills looking after children the stress of everyday life due to EU-IMF bailout.Herman wants you to except the suffering for the greater good the good where guys n gals alike invent new ways to gamble with the futures of millions of people because they just can and its fun kids who understand perfectly that they dont have to behave because they’ve been spoilt for along time and see no reason to care about the consequences of their own actions.They need the citizen but they hate the citizen the population is only a cash cash cow to feed off for a selected few the same few always the same few who walor like pigs in the tormentation and despair of good people trying to live their lives as best they can.The present Government and past governments alike have been seduced by the illusion of power that they hold how can you be a government if you do not think for yourself as a government.The continuous tunnel vision of FF FG governments over the years has only aligned Ireland with the mindset of these Ruling class banker/pollitican this crisis was created and still remains because of the agendas of out of control power hungry human beings who have no right by birth our election to rule your life this crisis will be a long drawn out painful one unless we bust the myth that their is only one way to run banks and government and that is by greed corruption and vested interest we can take positives not bogus positives like pats on the head from greedy control freaks but real positives that people are awakening to the false intentions of our Government and IMF ..who are these people that wields so much power are they working with us or against us their is a certain type of person in the world who come to power and they all seem to be admired and trusted even though the overwhelming evidence would suggest they are the complete opposite.We need people in government who will object negotiate and put the best interest of the majority at heart not some token gestures by this government to keep buying time until we are too broken to even care. The only people who will help us are ourselves.Live like this our change..
Sorry about length of comment..
Could you repeat that?
I agree , but that must be the longest sentence ever written.
It seems some people like seeing the country been run into the ground us little piglets dont know what our corrupt politicians were up to in the early 80′s but im sure the country was in a third world like state because just like now of our shit government .
Oh it must have been run by the radical right parties that you speak about…still waiting to find out the names of said parties….I wonder why you can’t back up your posts…. Are u full of shite brend???
If there is somebody close by that is fluent in English perhaps you might like to ask him/her to help you to put your thoughts in writing.
Well it’s not Sinn Fein ULA Socialist Party Independents .So il let you figure that out for yourself.The country is in decline and it FF FG L fault if you think differently then good man yourself and its usually the fellas that troll the journal using all sorts of names giving sarky answers to everyone that thinks different to them that’s full of muck.Anyway no one cares what i think or you think so try n have a life if you can.
No substance brend…verdict-u are full of shite… Think before you post shite next time…we can see through u xxxxx
Paddy you’ve been proved to be a orange order lula already on this site making some wild hateful statements so getting an insult from you makes me feel alot better about myself.Good day gents troll on troll on.
Still waiting for you to back up ur post lad…I have no problem discussing topics with people of the left…it’s just when things that are completely off the wall are said which can’t be backed up…well, they can’t be allowed get away with it…chin up my friend…be careful wat you put on this as u can be made look stupid…chat to you soon.
Well said brend. TROLLS for a fact. anyone here can just scroll up the comments and see laurel and hardy in full swing.
Shinners were against original common market and remain anti EU i wouldn,t say anti EU but cautious of a hijacked EU by big banks and corporations and justifiably so. Sinn Fein were against lisbon and the Euro currency when most parties in Ireland fully endorsed it so really they made their call even at the time when radical right parties in this country joked and laughed about their fears of what might eventually happen.How is it only in Ireland that when you call something even when everyone else is saying different but you say it cause that’s what you believe to be true and you end up been more than justified that still the parties that promoted the eventual crisis seem to have no memory of it whatsoever and still deem the Sinn Fein party as fascists and looney lefties it really is incredible.Have a look at what has happened ..manufactured ignorance is rife.
Wat radical right parties do we have in Ireland…do tell…I’m smelling a whifff something from the post…
Brend
Sinn Fein doesn’t participate in anything other than destructive behaviour. They did oppose our entry into the original Commom Market. They have opposed every single EU related Referendum ever since. Their Economic policies are as coherent as those advance by preimary school children and they slavishly support the equivalent of Household Charges in Northern Ireland while they oppose them in the Republic. They behave as anti Democratic thugs by inciting the people of this State to break lawfully imposed taxes and they want to participate in the Governing of this country?
Spare me.
that’s right ya mick same ol song from the bashers of the only main party that isn’t directly linked to austerity ..Keep singing we all have our opinions.
Van Dracul Rampant said we’re good. I feel sick.
I’l be out hanging with my real friends the un educated ones getting in their ear to vote for Sinn Fein the hatred for this government is unreal were having a field day.Enjoy the slog Enda will be proud..
Says it all…enjoy
You know the radical rights love your ass you defend them and get nothing back only a toilet for a country.I salute you.
A republican saying his country is a toilet…ha, your really makin an ass of urself Brendy…well done…..I bid you good nite…
Anybody remember how Europe gave us millions and dragged us out of abject poverty way back 30 years ago when we were a third world country. Those glory days when our great politicians were coming back with loads of hand-out dosh that kick-started our economy. Subsidies, left, right and centre, and no pay-back needed. We had no shame in grabbing it all, as much as we could fit into our out-held caps. The Price we paid? We joined up as fully indebted members to the great European adventure. It worked spectacularly for us. WE, yes, WE blew it, no-one else. Greed, avarice, and pig-in-trough ignorance spoilt the party. Now listen to the squeals of all our little piglets, now that the great cash sow has dried up. The moaners, be-grudgers and knockers are back in their element, one that took us hundreds of years to perfect. Away with ya all.
Well said….the sooner people wake up for their dreams where they are able to blame everyone else but themselves the better
Excellent Donal.
sorry Donal I never had my head in a trough and never got anything to benefit my life only what i worked for myself. You might have loads a cash but not everyone gained from the cash cows your on about.
and who paid the most tax to europe during the so called gravy days????……oh yes Ireland the second highest in all of the EU, who’s the only country that willingly took every bit of crap in austerity plans and was used as an experiment for the EU to enforce austerity across other countries in europe in a bid to keep the bondholders and god like markets happy???…..oh yes that would be Ireland. Its true plenty got alot from the european union back in the days but plenty didn’t and now the majority are suffering for it so maybe its an equal dose were all taking!
Well done you now have a whopping 140 signatures…you must delighted with that figure after weeks of hard work… What you u plan to do after this? Have you got answers to our economic problems? What is your view of financing the country going forward? I would like to know before I sign up as the page seems a bit vague on detail at the moment…
Thanks mick if you think for one second that i would try and get you to think differently or somehow conversate with you so that we could share ideas and beliefs you are in lala land i am one way you another if you want to call people full of shit that does’nt see your way then get ready to be more pissed off in the future .Keep you kisses for your money that you so obviously worship.
U can’t back up ur arguments my friend…that means u are full of shite…nothing more nothing less…
Im no friend of yours mick..not getting stuck in with ye right wing birdies for the day..left is on the rise the right have failed miserably no more and alot less..
Very convenient to run when you can back up ur arguments… Enough said!
FF FG L GP are right wing partys have been for tears that is my opinion their i backed it up you dont think they are that’s your opinion your saying people cant have an opinion go down to the shop and get the sindo ffs.
“Radical” right wring parties you said. They are no way near radical right wing parties…ur knowledge is pitiful….oh keep digging digging digging Brendy boy!!!
I know but I see so many un educated young people turning to SF because they listen to guff like this and believe in it…It has to be corrected…
Labour and greens are right wing now….I’ve heard it all from this guy!!!!
D’oh!!!
Sorry about the short comment :-))
Irish is Irish peoples first language or do you think we always spoke english .Digging guff im good man have no worries you sound like you need to go to bed work in the morning remember.
Snore…u can’t speak Irish lad…hence it’s not your first language…yep, must hit the sack after the hurling and go to work in the morning…it’s been a pleasure my friend.
It is a toilet everyone shits on us.Will it remain a toilet for a while but not forever because the Sinn Fein party will fight its corner always has always will.Might i add i think your full of shite too and going by the red thumbs you so frequently get i think your views are of a different age no offense of course i took none to yours.Oh and its yourself mind that grammar tut tut.
I assume you are off to bed too Brend. School can be challenging especially primary school.
Mick, I think it is unfair to criticise Brend too severely as it is obvious that English is not his first language. I thought I posted this already but I must be mistaken.
Is i an ghaeilge orangeman mo chead teanga.
Poor grammar there Brendy…
“Ireland is making such good progress on all fronts”. In other words, Ireland Governments still has not copped on that we are shafting them for everything they have got.
Irish is my first language orangeman.Mick good luck boy!
Well that’s a lie as you can’t string a sentence of it together …again more guff…more digging….
Who cares what this unelected official has to say about Ireland?
Correct me so and take your hand out of your pants.Mickey
Its hard to understand…U seem to be saying that you are an Irish orange man…I don’t think that’s what u meant but sure each to his own!!!
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