The government of Ireland will hold a cabinet meeting today to finalise a four-year plan to reduce the budget deficit as a prelude to an expected bailout from Europe.
Officials from Ireland, the EU and the IMF have begun talks on a financial aid plan to help the country rescue its banks amid concerns about contagion to the rest of the euro zone.
Barclays Capital estimates the bailout plan could involve between €22 billion (Dh110.47bn) and €37bn to restructure and recapitalise Irish banks, plus about €60bn to cover the state's funding needs for three years.
Brian Cowen, the Irish prime minister, told Reuters the second day of talks on a possible aid package with European leaders were "going well". Mr Cowen has outlined a budget plan to save €15bn over four years.
"The talks … are going well in terms of being open and constructive," he told Reuters.
Mr Cowen said he was confident measures to save €6bn next year would pass when the parliament voted on the budget on December 7, despite the government's slim parliamentary majority.
Plans may include the European financial stability facility, the €440bn emergency loan programme created to help euro zone countries refinance their debts.
Banks in Ireland had borrowed €130bn from the European Central Bank as of the end of last month, although part of that was lent to foreign banks based in the country. Irish banks also borrowed nearly €35bn in liquidity assistance from their own central bank by the end of last month.
Allied Irish Banks, Ireland's second-biggest lender, illustrated the extent of the crisis by reporting a 17 per cent decline in deposits this year and tripling in its reliance on funding from central banks.
The government's four-year plan is expected to get the budget deficit back to the EU ceiling of 3 per cent of GDP by 2014, compared with the government's deficit estimate of 32 per cent for this year.
Standard & Poor's expects the country's GDP to shrink by a further 0.8 per cent by the end of the year, and unemployment to peak at 13.5 per cent.
Dublin has insisted it will not negotiate its 12.5 per cent corporation tax rate, the second-lowest in the EU.
* with agencies
farah.halime@thenational.ae
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
