Brian Lenihan and credit crunch

[capall]

How do people feel Brian Lenihan is performing as Finance Minister?

At least he is communicating,yesterday he was on all the radio shows and the rte news.
I think he is doing ok in a very difficult situation

 

[webtax]

He comes across a lot better than Cowen and is happy to put himself forward for tough questioning.
Guaranteeing Anglo & Irish Nationwide back in September was a monumental error though.

 

[mercman]

Guaranteeing Anglo & Irish Nationwide back in September was a monumental error though.

Agree with your comments. However, it is becoming fairly clear that the information being passed to the Govt by the Banks were and are somewhat short of the truth, especially in relation to their loans/bad and Doubtful Debts etc.

Moreover, the Central Bank who are meant to be inspectors of the National Banking Institutions have been keeping fairly quite so to say.

 

[webtax]

True, but the government should not be relying on the banks to give them information. Would anyone trust them given their record! If the central bank & regulator had been on the ball then the information should have been available with a couple of phone calls.

It's the lack of regulation coming back to bite the government. When all the over-charging/offshore scandals came to light the watchdog should changed to a bloodhound and stayed that way. Instead the PD's & McCreevy decided to go with the lightest possible touch, which McCreevy is still trying to promote in Europe to this day.

And to think some want McCreevy to come back as the new messiah to save us all.

 

[smiley]

I think he is doing ok in a very difficult situation

I agree. He is doing well compared to Cowen. Lenihan has a statesman like character and a bit of charisma. It does help. Cowen on the other hand is coming across very badly.

Lenihan will be the leader of ff when cowen is dethroned.

 

[mercman]

It's the lack of regulation coming back to bite the government. When all the over-charging/offshore scandals came to light the watchdog should changed to a bloodhound and stayed that way. Instead the PD's & McCreevy decided to go with the lightest possible touch, which McCreevy is still trying to promote in Europe to this day.

And to think some want McCreevy to come back as the new messiah to save us all.

100% in agreement with you. Unless the Govt. make some significant inroads in forcing the Banks to release the complete picture and information, this country is going to embark down a very slippery slope. I was and still am infavour of bringing back McCreevy, simply because it was his schedule of very poor controls that has left us in this mess. The Senior Civil Servants appear to have their heads stuck firmly in the sand and instead of little old Ireland been known for its crucial tight rules on Banking it does appear that we are about to become the Hillbillies of the modern Financial World. God only knows what the state of the BoI and the AIB are ??

 

[Strathspey]

I think what has been forgotten in this whole debacle is that Ireland is not a sophisticated nation although we pretend to be. It's still a nation of tradesmen and farmers who got lucky with a low corporation tax rate, a few years ago. To develop a disciplined mindset like the Scandinavians or a Germanic mindset is going to take a few more decades but certainly something we should aspire to. At the end of the day Ireland achieved very little on it's own. When it comes down to it, we were little more than those African countries in receipt of development aid. We owe a lot to the German nation and I have yet to read or hear of a single Irish person express an iota of gratitude to that effect for picking us off our knees in the '70's and continuing to aid us through the '80's and into the boom years.

 

[webtax]

To develop a disciplined mindset like the Scandinavians or a Germanic mindset is going to take a few more decades but certainly something we should aspire to.

A good point. Hopefully once the crisis passes we will take the time to consider what sort of society we want to have. It seems we went straight from poverty to greed without considering what sort of a nation we were becoming. We need to move beyond the simplified Boston or Berlin argument and decide what sort of political system we want to deliver the public services we require. There is such a high level of cynicism around at the moment that we need fundamental change.

 

[onekeano]

I agree. He is doing well compared to Cowen. Lenihan has a statesman like character and a bit of charisma. It does help. Cowen on the other hand is coming across very badly.

Lenihan will be the leader of ff when cowen is dethroned.

Eh hello!!! Smiley, your real name isn't Mary is it? That's Auntie Mary from Athlone? "Statesman" Lenihan? More like a rabbit in headlights...... every he does he explains with "we didn't have any choice in this". And as for charisma.......he has the same charisma as a wet fish! Regarding his possible elevation to top job in Fianna Fail all I can say is they probably deserve that - thing is even if he gets the job he'll never be Taoiseach.

Roy

 

[mercman]

Regarding his possible elevation to top job in Fianna Fail all I can say is they probably deserve that - thing is even if he gets the job he'll never be Taoiseach.

So Fine Gael have so much to offer ??? The only thing they have offered for years is a cynical criticism of every single thing that was done in the country. A complete parcel of halfwit losers. Collectively they are as useful as an Ashtray on a Motor Bike.

 

[The Edge]

When it comes down to it, we were little more than those African countries in receipt of development aid. We owe a lot to the German nation and I have yet to read or hear of a single Irish person express an iota of gratitude to that effect for picking us off our knees in the '70's and continuing to aid us through the '80's and into the boom years.

This is amusing. Our membership of the Eurozone (completely dominated by the requirements of the German economy) is the primary reason for the property bubble and resulting systemic banking collapse, but you want us to doff the cap to Germany? Simply hilarious.

 

[onekeano]

So Fine Gael have so much to offer ??? The only thing they have offered for years is a cynical criticism of every single thing that was done in the country. A complete parcel of halfwit losers. Collectively they are as useful as an Ashtray on a Motor Bike.

Am not and never have been a member of any party, regarding FG have to say I think Bruton has been very consistent and they would be better off with him as leader. Regarding FF I would put most of the blame on Bertie and their cosy relationship with the developers and his infamous "social partnership" which was basically a euphemism for the unions to get their snouts into the trough. And Cowan after all was Minister for Finance for 4 years while the public paybill was exploding!

Roy

 

[mercman]

keano. I wouldn't dispute most of the comments you have made, but remember the times and the amount of money that was slushing around at the time. Furthermore and more importantly you might recall when Peter Bacon undertook his last report, signaling his recommendation to significant changes it was the opposition that went on a free for all. The problems we are having in this country are the same as in every modern economy at present. Banks undertaking ridiculous lending mainly for the inhouse payment of Bonuses. When the Central Bank in Ireland issued many warnings it was the opposition that were shouting to make the point. Sure I will agree that this Governemnt has made mistakes and the waste of money in individual Government departments is sickening. But frankly does anyone reeally consider with the opposition which was there and even now, that they could do anything much better.

 

[darag]

How do people feel Brian Lenihan is performing as Finance Minister?

At least he is communicating,yesterday he was on all the radio shows and the rte news.
I think he is doing ok in a very difficult situation

He is a trained barrister so I would expect him to be able to communicate and argue well.

Unfortunately, his job - that of finance minister - requires different skills than those of an orator. He requires skills in the areas of finance, business, banking and economics. He should have a high level of numeracy and analytic abilities. He should be able anticipate the economic and financial effects of his decisions. In all these areas he, in my opinion, has demonstrated fatal weakness.

So no - the fact that he comes across as decisive while giving radio interviews, etc. does not make me think he is doing a good job as a finance minister. The fact that he has made some very poor (in my opinion) decisions which may well cost us 10s of billions of euro makes me think he is a very poor finance minister.

 

[mathepac]

... He requires skills in the areas of finance, business, banking and economics. He should have a high level of numeracy and analytic abilities. He should be able anticipate the economic and financial effects of his decisions. In all these areas he, in my opinion, has demonstrated fatal weakness...

I honestly believe that comments like these betray a lack of insight into how government works.

Lenihan is supposed to have his officials to do the number crunching - that's what civil servants are for, or at least that's what they are being very well paid to do. Why have a dog and bark yourself?

I never voted for any prospective TD based on his/her ability to add or subtract, to analyse a balance sheet or annual report; the bean counters. economists and data analysts are in the Department of Finance, at Briano's beck and call. "Analyse this", quoth Briano. "Yes, Minister", respondeth a chorus of lackeys, civilly, diving for their networked PDAs (or quills and ledgers if they are there a while).

Briano's job as a senior member of Cabinet is to deliver the headlines, then wheel in the bean-counters and have them quizzed by Biffo & Co regarding the detail of the underlyings, the trends and the recommendations.

Cabinet decisions are made collectively (no finger-pointing afterwards) and delivered by The Boss (unless they are spectacularly unpalletable), having been massaged and codified by the "fondlers" (who are paid even more than the bean-counters).

If Briano's (or the Cabinet's) decisions appear poor in retrospect, it is hardly due to him being numerically challenged - rumour has it that lawyers can even do sums; the more likely reason is that he and they were being given garbage by their officials, and hung out to dry by the regulatory bodies - good, old-fashioned GIGO syndrome.

And no I'm not a FF'er nor am I a fan of the Lenihan dynasty.

 

[Padraigb]

...If Briano's (or the Cabinet's) decisions appear poor in retrospect, it is hardly due to him being numerically challenged - rumour has it that lawyers can even do sums; the more likely reason is that he and they were being given garbage by their officials, and hung out to dry by the regulatory bodies - good, old-fashioned GIGO syndrome...

That's far too kind to the politicians, and grossly unfair to their officials. Much of the advice accepted by ministers emanates from sources outside their departments, including representations from parties that stand to benefit from political decisions. Isn't that one of the reasons why we have had those expensive tribunals?

 

[Towger]

I honestly believe that comments like these betray a lack of insight into how government works.

Lenihan is supposed to have his officials to do the number crunching - that's what civil servants are for, or at least that's what they are being very well paid to do. Why have a dog and bark yourself?

The problem which can be clearly seen from the Budget is they did not let civil servants do the work in advance. Do you honestly believe that Revenue wanted to bring in the likes of the Income Levy and all the messing and administration that ended up going with it. Stick a percent or two on PAYE, PRSI or the Health Levy, much simpler than bringing in a totally new tax. Like wise there was no flesh put on the Car Parking Levy or Bike scheme in advance. They were just picked from a list of one line ideas with no thought put into them. A day later Gormley sounded like a fool when interviewed on the radio, when he could not even answer the most basic questions.

 

[shotgun]

The whole shower need to be kicked out asap - It would send out the correct message to outside investors at a minimum. FF have been far too cozy with thier relevant Govenment depts for FAR to long.

The thoughts of FF running the Irish Banking sector will make the Haughey years look like a wet dream. Imagine if your political alliances determine if you get a loan or not....? We separate the Judicial and Political roles in govenment in this country for a good reason. The same rule should apply for Banking and Politics.

 

[Towger]

The whole shower need to be kicked out asap

Do you think FG and co. would do any better! At this stage none of them are up to running the country :-(

 

[Sunny]

Do you think FG and co would do any better!

FG have lost all credibility since backing down from their demands for public sector pay cuts. They are playing politics and games at a time when the Country is crying out for any sort of strong leadership.