AIB pass the point of no return
| |
The top four banks are Ireland's most profitable companies. A
profit that is generated by imposing costs on Irish households
and Irish firms
|
Allied Irish Banks passed the point of no return last week when
they announced their profit results for the first six months of
1997. The bank headlined the results which showed half year
pre-tax profits of £242.2 million as a ``Quantum Leap'' for the
company. The bank is now making over £1.3 million daily in clear
profit.
AIB has also set another precedent. They also disclosed that
after its acquisition of the Dauphin Deposit Corporation in the
US last year, the majority of the bank's assets are now held
outside Ireland.
Last December the Irish parts of AIB constituted 51% of the
group; now that figure has fallen to 43%. The USA accounts for
34% of the group, British interests make up 26%, while AIB's 60%
stake in the Polish WBK Bank makes up a further 3% of the group.
The AIB accounts show that the company is now a truly
international corporation. The question is, what effect will this
have on the Irish economy? It is the dominant role that the
company has in the Irish economy that has allowed AIB to expand
internationally. The profits that AIB have been sucking out of
Irish customers have paid for this foreign expansion.
In common with many other states the Irish banking sector enjoys
a privileged role in the economy. They can dictate the pace and
direction of economic development. The end result is that the top
four banks are Ireland's most profitable companies - a profit
that is generated by imposing costs on Irish households and Irish
firms. It is a parasitic relationship.
The only payback is that 32% of the profits went into the coffers
of the Dublin Government. Is this enough though? Another question
is what should the money be used for?
Finance minister Charlie McCreevy is, according to news reports,
planning the sale of ICC and ACC banks. He also has to decide on
the status of TSB. Should it be sold to one of the top four banks
and also what role should the Post Office Savings Bank have in
the future?
One course of action is to merge these companies into one group
using the the tax take from the private sector as an aid to their
long-term development. Then you could have a banking sector that
facilitates and encourages economic development to socially
defined criteria, like aiding regional development and funding
community enterprises overlooked by the commercial sector or
offering low cost mortgages to cut housing costs. Now that would
be a real quantum leap.
Teletubbies in struggle
| |
Even in Teletubby land there is discord, strife and now
commercial pressures.
|
Is there nowhere in the world where you won't find workers
struggling for their jobs, their rights and working conditions?
That there must somewhere be a workers' utopia is a crutch I have
used as a comfort when writing of the strikes, redundancies,
exploitation and profiteering that most workers endure.
Imagine my dismay to find that even in Teletubby land there is
discord, strife and now commercial pressures. The Teletubbies,
who have graced the morning television schedules since last
March, are the latest victims of exploitative employers.
Tinky Winky, Laa Laa, Dipsy and Poo have shown us over the past
months an idyllic version of how life can be as they playfully
help each other through the tribulations of daily running and
jumping through flower and rabbit filled green fields.
Now the show's producers have axed Dave Thompson, otherwise known
as Tinky Winky, from the show. He has been told that his
``interpretation of the role is not acceptable'' and is being
replaced.
The message from Ragdoll Productions, who make the programme for
the BBC, is clearly that no Teletubby is bigger than his furry
suit.
The pressures of the marketplace have also hit Teletubbyland. In
the coming weeks Teletubby merchandise will hit the shops selling
footwear, toiletries, greeting cards and minature teletubbies. It
seems that even Teletubbies will sell out if the price is right.
Privatisation pains
Last week we brought you the sad tale of South East Trains who
wanted to hire passengers as part-time train guards. You might
have thought that couldn't be topped, but enter right South West
Trains who want to pay their train drivers a £1000 plus bonus if
they don't go on holidays.
Train crews are being offered cash bonuses of £250 a day and up
to £1,500 to give up a week's holiday. So why have South West
taken such drastic measures? Simple really. South West are one of
the newly privatised rail franchises in Britain. Their new owners
bus giant Stagecoach have caused the problem by sacking too many
drivers. Already this year South West had to cancel train
services not because of a lack of passengers but because they had
no drivers for the trains. The bonus scheme is supposed to head
off a similar crisis this summer.
It seems that the drastic step of actually hiring extra drivers
has not yet occurred to Stagecoach management. Maybe they should
take a leaf from South East Trains and hire passengers to drive
the trains. Don't laugh, it could just happen.
INOU call for government statement on jobs
``Nobody pays attention to unemployment figures unless they are
rising. But the fact that unemployment is not falling in the
middle of a boom sholuld be of as much concern''. This was the
view of INOU chairperson Paul Billings after 26-County
unemployment figures for July were released last week.
The CSO figures showed a decrease of 400 in the seasonally
adjusted unemployment level to 255,100. The Live Register figure
jumped by 4,178 to 259,041 as many seasonal workers such as
teachers and administrative workers are laid off for the summer.
The INOU is a statement said that ``THe Department of Finance has
recently reported that over 1,000 jobs a week are being created
in the Irish economy. The fact that this is leading to a decrease
on the dole queue of only 100 a week is an apalling indication
that the benefits of economic growth are not being shared''.
The INOU called for a a ``comprehensive statement from the
Government on what they believe is happening in the labour market
and why the unemployed are not getting the benefits of the boom
in jobs.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)