Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
ENDA KENNY IS taking the stand in the Dáil as Opposition deputies take the opportunity to grill the Taoiseach on the cost of running his office and his trip to the World Economic forum, among other issues.
However, he has pre-empted Leader’s Questions with the announcement that Ireland will hold a referendum on the EU fiscal compact treaty.
Read his full speech HERE and the speech made by Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore HERE.
28 Feb 2012
3:05PM
The Taoiseach has just confirmed that the people of Ireland will be asked in a referendum to ratify the EU fiscal compact treaty.
28 Feb 2012
3:06PM
The Attorney General gave her formal advice this morning that on balance a referendum is required. She said the latest treaty is outside that of the formal architecture of the EU.
28 Feb 2012
3:07PM
Kenny said he looks forward to a debate. He told the Dáil he believes ratifying the treaty is in the national interest of Ireland.
28 Feb 2012
3:08PM
The ratification of the treaty will be a historic milestone for Ireland’s economic recovery, added Kenny.
28 Feb 2012
3:09PM
More binding and enforcement of fiscal rules will be good for Ireland, according to the Taoiseach as he called for a yes vote.
28 Feb 2012
3:10PM
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, speaking in the Dáil after Kenny’s announcement said ratifying the treaty will give Irealnd access to emergency funds if we need them.
28 Feb 2012
3:11PM
The Tánaiste added that the Government doesn’t want to access the ESM but the facility itself is a backstop that will grow international confidence in Ireland (and Europe as a whole).
28 Feb 2012
3:12PM
Both Kenny and Gilmore said they were confident of a yes vote in the referendum.
28 Feb 2012
3:13PM
Gilmore on a yes vote:
A vote for economic stability and a vote for economic recovery.
28 Feb 2012
3:14PM
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said that he believes the decision on holding a referendum is the “right one”.
28 Feb 2012
3:15PM
Fianna Fáil is supporting the ratification of the treaty but Martin said the people need to be engaged on the issues.
28 Feb 2012
3:15PM
“The people need to be taken on our journey through the EU.” – Martin
28 Feb 2012
3:16PM
The Fianna Fáil leader has also called for less partisan commentary among political parties on such an important issue.
28 Feb 2012
3:18PM
Martin reiterated his party’s support for the treaty but warned that it will only pass if presented to the people as a series of measures – and not the only major reform on the agenda – to create jobs and improve the economy.
28 Feb 2012
3:19PM
Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams welcomed the “unusual” decision for the announcement to be made in the chamber by Kenny and Gilmore.
28 Feb 2012
3:19PM
He said it marks another failure by the Government – which is a good thing, according to Adams.
28 Feb 2012
3:20PM
The referendum is on an issue of profound and longlasting importance. Adams asks:
Will the Government accept the outcome? Or will there be a rerun or replay? Will there be an informed debate or bullying tactic of the past employed?
28 Feb 2012
3:22PM
Shane Ross and Joe Higgins both stand at the same time, vying for the first opportunity to address the chamber.
28 Feb 2012
3:22PM
Ceann Comhairle says he called Ross, who he is told is the spokesperson for the technical group.
28 Feb 2012
3:23PM
Despite that call, Joe Higgins won out and is now addressing the Dáil.
28 Feb 2012
3:24PM
Oh scrap that, Deputy Ross gets to speak first from the technical group. Higgins accuses the Ceann Comhairle of breaking precedent.
28 Feb 2012
3:24PM
Ross again welcomes the referendum but criticises the Government for seeking the AG’s advice on it in the first place.
28 Feb 2012
3:25PM
It is a pity that the Government did not voluntarily go down this road.
28 Feb 2012
3:26PM
Ross agrees with Adams – this is a fiscal union pact on austerity. It is not a product of Irish input.
It is dictated by Germans, French and other people.
28 Feb 2012
3:27PM
He argues that tighter fiscal union will come after this EU treaty. It is a road we should not wish to go down, continues Ross.
28 Feb 2012
3:28PM
Ross told the Taoiseach that he should seek a credit write-off for the Irish people as a minimum request in exchange for signing off on the treaty.
28 Feb 2012
3:28PM
Richard Boyd-Barrett has called for more time to be afforded to the treaty before leader’s questions continue.
28 Feb 2012
3:29PM
More time will be given tomorrow to discuss the treaty and the referendum, confirms Kenny.
28 Feb 2012
3:34PM
Micheál Martin takes the first question and brings up the issue of health AND community care.
Kenny said the relevant medical teams are looking at smaller, local hospitals and their futures. Work on the grouping of larger hospitals with smaller ones is being finalised and will be put forward to public consultation.
Gerry Adams is up next and is discussing Government promises about transparency at NAMA.
He asks, “How much has NAMA paid for the properties it controls? Why does the agency remain cloaked in secrecy?”
28 Feb 2012
3:39PM
NAMA transfers are very transparent, Kenny said in response to Adams claim that there are 16 firms advising on loan sales that have links to the agency.
28 Feb 2012
3:40PM
If he has evidence of a conflit of interest at NAMA, Kenny said Adams should bring it to public attention.
28 Feb 2012
3:41PM
The Minister for Finance has received advice on the structure of NAMA and is currently considering that advice, Kenny told the Dáil.
28 Feb 2012
3:48PM
Deputy Finian McGrath challenges the Taoiseach on what he calls silent cuts to carers’ allowances.
28 Feb 2012
3:48PM
Kenny reminds McGrath that there has been no cuts to headline social welfare payments.
28 Feb 2012
3:49PM
Minister of State’s Kathleen Lynch’s report on disability strategy is practically ready and will outline pathways for the future on caring, adds Kenny.
28 Feb 2012
3:50PM
That completes the leader’s questions for the day but now we move onto questions to the Taoiseach on Davos, the press office and other issues.
28 Feb 2012
3:51PM
The Taoiseach is outlining what he did during his trip to Davos for the World Economic Forum last month.
28 Feb 2012
3:52PM
The Taoiseach said he briefed finance ministers on the success Ireland is maintaining in its IMF/EU programme.
28 Feb 2012
3:54PM
He said he told a group of international business leaders at an event about how Ireland is highly rated by the World Bank as a country in which to do business.
28 Feb 2012
3:55PM
Kenny said the World Economic Forum at Davos is an “exceptional opportunity” to engage with influential political and business leaders.
28 Feb 2012
3:56PM
Martin is asking about some of his public comments made at the time. He makes sure to note that Kenny’s positive comment about Budget 2011 came even though he voted against it at the time.
28 Feb 2012
3:57PM
The Fianna Fáil leader asked the Taoiseach did he go “too far” in his controversial comments about greed in Ireland during the boom years?
28 Feb 2012
3:59PM
Kenny said at the panel discussion with leaders of Poland, Denmark and Finland he discussed the reckless lending that happened during those years.
28 Feb 2012
4:01PM
Joe Higgins also asked the Taoiseach whether he should apologise for the “indiscriminate” insults to the people about how they “went mad borrowing” and garnered “personal credit” that spawned uncontrollable greed.
28 Feb 2012
4:04PM
Kenny tells Higgins that he may not be aware of the instances of people buying up to 12 apartments “on their mobile phones”.
28 Feb 2012
4:06PM
Higgins also asked why he did not challenge some of the leaders of financial institutions while in Davos. Kenny retorted that Higgins may not travel out of Dublin. He said that he spent his time at Davos to speak to a number of CEOs – some of who were considering investments here.
28 Feb 2012
4:07PM
Gerry Adams says he’s going for third-time lucky and asks Kenny to clarify his remarks about his “mad with borrowing” remarks.
28 Feb 2012
4:09PM
Kenny said he made the point while giving background to the Irish situation to a group of international business leaders.
28 Feb 2012
4:10PM
Kenny: What I said in the State of the Nation address I stand over – that the people were not responsible. However, they were victims of incentivised schemes.
28 Feb 2012
4:13PM
Richard Boyd Barrett tries to sneak in a question about the just-announced referendum. He is swiftly rebuked by the Ceann Comhairle.
He claims that there is a link to Davos (what deputies are allowed to grill the Taoiseach on today). He says that the Government is saying one thing to the people at home but quite different to thsoe at Davos and the EU.
28 Feb 2012
4:16PM
Kenny refutes the claim that he said “all of the people were responsible” for going “mad with borrowing”. He again brings up the idea that banks were “firing out” money in incentivised schemes.
He accuses Boyd-Barrett of not travelling outside of his own area enough.
28 Feb 2012
4:18PM
We’ve now spent 26 minutes on the subject of Davos, says the Ceann Comhairle. The Taoiseach has not apologised or taken back the remarks made at the WEF about people going “mad with borrowing”. He has tried to clarify that he did not mean that all the people of the country were responsible but has, again, pointed the blame at financial institutions who gave out credit on incentivised schemes.
“Victims of incentivised scheme” is the buzzword of the session.
28 Feb 2012
4:21PM
Kenny wants to re-iterate the Government’s commitment to prioritise job creation in Ireland. He continues to detail how he used the WEF in Davos to hold face-to-face meetings with the heads of various companies, including Facebook and EMC. He said he found the experience “fruitful and interesting”.
There is now a suggestion that Ireland should hold a similar conference on the creative industries, such as film, acting etc.
28 Feb 2012
4:25PM
Now onto the cost of the Taoiseach’s press office – which has reduced its cost by 9 per cent in 2011, said the Taoiseach.This has been achieved through greater efficiencies.
Adams asks for the total number of people working in the office. Kenny details the three staff working at MerrionStreet.ie.
If that is not the correct number, Kenny said he will come back with another answer.
28 Feb 2012
4:26PM
Merrionstreet.ie has three staff. Its editor is an assistant principal in the Department of the Taoiseach. There are also two editorial assistant poisitions, one of which has just been advertised on PublicJobs.ie. It comes with a salary of €27,000.
28 Feb 2012
4:38PM
Gerry Adams is bemused that after asking a question about families in mortgage distress, Kenny spoke about credit to medium and small businesses.
Kenny said he has held constructive meetings with the three banks. He said that each bank is anxious to get back into being available to people to help grow the economy.
Following another question by Adams, he said the Government had “of course” raised the question of sustainable agreements between banks and those who are in mortgage distress.
Each bank has set out its strategy on such cases but each will be dealt with individually as each situation is different.
28 Feb 2012
4:40PM
Micheál Martin is standing again now and talks about people’s anger towards recapitalised banks.
Previous to that, Kenny told Adams there will be a review in a few months time on the banks’ arrears figures and how they are being dealt with.
28 Feb 2012
4:42PM
Martin says that the fastest way to job creation is to get meaningful access to credit for businesses and to deal with the mortgage arrears issue, which is detrimental to households and dampening consumer demand and consumer sentiment.
28 Feb 2012
4:45PM
Kenny says it is fair to say that small businesses are more than willing to get into the act of borrowing so they can employ or begin exporting. He said he spoke to a bank manager yesterday who had just authorised a loan to a small business which was taking on new employees.
The evidence given by a number of banks is that there are signs of things beginning to move – even though there is a long way to go.
28 Feb 2012
4:47PM
Martin has the final word on the banking crisis/access to credit question and tells the Taoiseach the review mentioned earlier should take place within weeks – and not months.
Moving onto climate change now…
28 Feb 2012
4:50PM
Kenny details the numerous milestones marked out over the next twelve months in terms of climate change policy. He said a public consultation will be carried out and a report on potential climate policies and measures will be completed by the end of June 2012.
By the end of this year, a Climate Bill will come before the Government for approval.
28 Feb 2012
4:52PM
Joe Higgins is up again and puts forward a proposition – which Kenny says is unusual for him. Higgins wonders why home loans cannot be written down to match the current value of their property.
Kenny reiterates that borrowers have to sit down with their lenders on a case by case basis.
28 Feb 2012
4:57PM
Dáil deputies have been reacting to the announcement that a referendum will be held on the EU fiscal compact treaty on Twitter (where else?).
That’s the end of leader’s questions for today. It’s onto the order of business so we’ll leave them to it. Thanks for joining us.
Now brace yourself for yet more referendum campaigning. We’re excited. Are you?
Advertisement
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Completely agree! Never mind the fact that at least you know what you’re getting is the real deal, it’s much healthier and tastes a hell of a lot better… Makes the extra money spent worth it!
Will this horse meat issue ever go away? It’s not that much of a big deal. Not to ruin any appetites but could you imagine the amount of little insects and other creatures that get minced in with the meat supply that we never know about.
When we were starting our then 18 month on meat (2years ago) my wife decided to get supermarket burgers just in case he did not like them – well to tell you the truth he pretty much threw the burger back at her. I said why not try butcher meat it will taste alot better and healthier for the child. She got a 1/4 pounder and he ate 2/3 of it. Hence even an 18 month old knew the taste of quality !!
Interesting article. If I’m reading those stats correctly, does this indicate that ordinary local butchers have not experienced a bounce in trade? And if not, I wonder why?
In other news, the number of horses commuting on the Dart has risen by over 800% in the past week. Community watch locals report a growing number of incidences involving horses some described as having ‘brazen attitudes’ and ‘brass balls’ towards concerned travellers waiting on the platforms for their respective trains. In a more striking example of the intimidation by the footloose horses, a 6-pack box of Silverdale frozen burgers was kicked at an elderly man’s head causing the man to curse loudly at the ebullient edible equine. The man was later taken for questioning. A file has been sent to the office of the DPP and a request for legal aid has been sought.
Great the media is loving this story and in doing so are systematically destroying one of Irelands core industries. Dont get me wrong I am totally for a free press but some of the sensationalism printed about this scandle (storm in a teacup) in relation to its connection with Ireland has been pure speculation and even when facts where established the Irish connection was still bigged up. Journal well done on being responsible and accurate if only other media would follow your example.
If anyone is destroying one of Ireland’s core industries it is those who sold contaminated meat, the officials who refuse to admit that traceability “from farm to fork” is a lie, and the businessmen who refuse to speak publicly about what happened in their factories.
Burying your head in the sand and “pulling on the green jersey” as you advocate will never work.
Government to make cabin homes in back gardens exempt from planning
Christina Finn
9 hrs ago
56.4k
70
Good Morning
The 9 at 9: Wednesday
Updated
20 mins ago
1.1k
The Morning Lead
Government to make cabin homes in back gardens exempt from planning
Christina Finn
9 hrs ago
56.4k
70
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 148 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 102 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 133 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 103 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 75 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 74 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 36 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 32 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 124 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 59 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 72 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 79 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 42 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 24 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 82 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 65 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 48 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 81 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 60 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say