AIB's egg-straordinary General Meeting

This morning the Allied Irish Bank (AIB) held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of its shareholders, in order to vote on the acceptance of € 3.5 billion re-capitalisation money from the Irish government, which means in effect from the Irish taxpayers.

This EGM preceded the bank's regular AGM (Annual General Meeting), which took place in the afternoon, and was supposed to be "a short, but necessary event". That, at least, was the plan of the AIB's board of directors, who have presided over one of the most spectacular bank busts in economic history. Over the past two years AIB stock lost more than € 20 billion in value. In 2007 a single share was traded at more than € 24, but in recent months the value has been rarely much above € 2 and even fallen below € 1. AIB's share price fell again by 13% yesterday, and by a further 14.63% today, closing in Dublin on a mere 88 cents.

With such a disastrous performance, which sank not only the bank, but contributed significantly to the wrecking of the entire Irish economy, one would expect that the complete board of AIB and its senior management team would be sacked on the spot, and without 'golden parachutes' and fat pension packets.

But this is Ireland, and here big criminals always get away, especially if they are white-collar crooks and government friends (while many poor people are sent to prison for - in comparison - petty offences). And although AIB's Chairman Dermot Gleeson (left) and the unbearably arrogant Group Chief Executive Eugene Sheehy (right) have eventually decided to resign, they will go with millions in their pockets and live their lives as very rich pensioners.

At the EGM this morning, Gleeson made at least a weak attempt of atonement when he verbally apologised "for the mistakes that have been made". He might as well have saved his breath, as the statement was insincere and clearly a rehearsed performance.

The more than 800 shareholders, who attended the meeting in the AIB banking centre* in Dublin, were not impressed and not at all pleased. In fact, they were angry. Very angry.
After Gleeson's formal statement, dozens of individual shareholders rose from the audience and voiced their anger and disappointment. Many attacked the AIB board in no uncertain terms, and most demanded a complete removal of all directors. A large number of the shareholders who spoke were elderly and said they had lost huge amounts of their retirement income.

The atmosphere was heated (see the large photo above), and no matter how much Gleeson and Sheehy tried to weasel themselves out of the situation with meaningless words, the shareholders from the floor were definetely clear winners of the debate.

One of them, who identified himself as Gary Keogh (aged 66) from Blackrock in Dublin, was so outraged that he threw two eggs at the board. One of them narrowly missed Eugene Sheehy, but the other spilled a good bit of its natural substance over Dermot Gleeson's expensive suit when it hit the stage wall.

Gary Keogh (left) was swiftly escorted from the meeting by AIB security staff, but he had done what he had come for and did not intend to stay longer anyway.
Outside the banking centre Mr. Keogh became an instant darling of the Irish media. Surrounded by reporters, he gave more than ten spontaneous interviews for newspapers and radio stations.
And then, at 1.45 pm, Gary Keogh was also the first speaker on the popular phone-in programme Live Line on RTÉ Radio 1, hosted by Joe Duffy.

He said that he had planned his direct action "for about two weeks" and explained that he had lost nearly € 20,000 in the AIB collapse, money he had specifically invested to provide him with a retirement income, "because we were told that bank shares were blue chip stock and as safe and solid as gold".
Now these shares, from whose dividends Mr. Keogh had planned to augment his pension, are almost worthless and payment of dividends has been suspended "for the foreseeable future". It is very unlikely that they will rise to significant heights again in Mr. Keogh's lifetime.

After his courageous and very symbolic action, Gary Keogh is tonight Ireland's hero of the day. There is not one house or pub in the country where people are not talking about him, and many will be drinking to his health.

I don't know if he came up with the idea of using eggs all by himself, or if he was perhaps inspired by the 'Eggman of Cork', who had pelted the façade and windows of the AIB main office in Ireland's second-largest city in February with about three dozen eggs and remains so far unidentified. (for details see my entry of February 20th)

After this morning's egg-straordinary incident, a brief interruption (during which the Chairman tried desperately to clean his suit) and many more angry and emotional statements from the floor, AIB shareholders voted by an overwhelming majority for the re-capitalisation of the bank with € 3.5 billion of taxpayers' money.
In return for the cash injection AIB has allotted the agreed number of preference shares to the Irish government.

When in the afternoon - after lunch (and a change of clothing for Dermot Gleeson) - the regular AGM got underway, the board was subjected to more criticism and emotional statements from angry shareholders.
However, the ownership structure of most large companies and financial institutions makes it impossible for individual shareholders to exercise any of their stutuatory rights, except the right of speaking at AGMs and EGMs.
Institutional shareholders, especially pension funds, control large amounts of shares and are the real forces in charge of banks and major companies. Their one and only interest is a rising share price, and thus they always vote in favour of anything the board proposes. (This has created a corrupt 'golden circle' of large corporate shareholders who vote for each other at various AGMs.)

It is thus no surprise that this evening AIB shareholders voted to return all the bank's current directors to its board. This alone is a scandal, and I hope that more people will do what I have already decided last Autumn: Never do any business with AIB. (And if you are a customer of theirs, then change your bank!)

The Emerald Islander


* It is an interesting footnote to the AIB collapse that the banking centre in Ballsbridge, Dublin (where today's meetings were held) is no longer owned by AIB. At the height of the boom, when the bankers were gambling madly and throwing money around in the most reckless way, the bank's board decided to sell the landmark building to a group of private investors and then rent it on a long-term contract from them. This is pretty stupid and shows how incompetent AIB has been run over many years. But what really takes the biscuit is the fact that AIB was first lending these private businessmen the money with which they were then buying the banking centre. I presume a six-year-old in primary school would have better skills in basic mathematics than the entire AIB board combined. In the olden days people who would have behaved so unbelievably idiotic and reckless would have been taken out and shot. But nowadays we don't even sack them. No, we re-elect them to carry on with their mismanagement, while a couple of scape goats are told to retire - on pension packages worth millions. Perhaps a revulotion might be required after all...

The Aer Corps - Fianna Fáil's Air Taxi Service

Yesterday we learned that a large side door had fallen off a new Aer Corps helicopter (above) in mid-flight over Co. Kerry. (see yesterday's entry below)
On its own this would be a rather minor news item, of real interest only to military experts and aircraft enthusiasts. But there is a lot more to this incident than the eye meets at first glance.

Although the official investigation by Aer Corps experts is still under way and I would not want to jump to conclusions from a distance, an incident like this can have in principal three possible reasons:

1. It could be a construction fault;
2. It could be caused by wear and tear or metal fatigue;
3. It could be the result of shoddy maintenance.

The first option could be blamed on the helicopter's Italian manufacturer, Augusta-Westland. It would be the least embarrassing for Ireland, and faults can happen anywhere, even though they should not.
Option two is the least likely. The AW 139 is a new helicopter and regarded as reliable and solid .
The third possibility looks like the most plausible to me. During my own long service in the Navy I had plenty of experience with helicopters, including as a crew member of one for some time. It is very easy to overlook a small maintenance detail, especially during the routine conditions any military organisation developes in peace time.

But the real scandal is not the falling off of a helicopter door, as inconvenient and embarrassing it might be for the Aer Corps. No, the outrage is the use of this helicopter - and others operated by the Irish Aer Corps - for unnecessary ministerial journeys.

It has emerged that the AW 139, a modern medium-sized aircraft that can transport 15 people at one time, was used yesterday as the private air taxi for Martin Cullen (right), Ireland's Minister for the Arts, Sport & Tourism. It collected the Fianna Fáil TD in the morning in Waterford, his home city and constituency, and flew him and one assistant to Killarney, Co. Kerry. There the minister gave a short speech to the about 250 members of the Irish Hotels' Federation, which were holding their annual conference in the Malton Hotel.

There was nothing urgent in the minister's address, and nothing new either. What he said to the hoteliers was just what they expected to hear: Tourist numbers are down significantly (they fell by 3% last year, and the predictions for 2009 are much worse), prices for hotel accomodation - and everything else in Ireland - are way too high, and we all will have to suffer, pull together and do our bit to get out of recession.

What was so important in this speech, and in the minister's visit to the conference in Killarney, that it justified the use of an AW 139 helicopter, at a cost - for Ireland's taxpayers - of € 8130?
Like every Irish minister Martin Cullen has a large Mercedes government car, with a Garda as permanent chauffeur. As his address to the hoteliers began at 2.15 pm, there was plenty of time to drive from Waterford to Killarney. Cullen had no appointments in Waterford on Monday, so if he had left in the morning, he would have arrived in Killarney well in time for lunch. This would have cost a fraction of the helicopter ride.
And while the minister was in the air, his chauffeur drove the empty black Mercedes to Dublin, with orders to meet his boss in the afternoon after the helicopter had brought him to the capital.

After giving his speech, Martin Cullen - apparently in a hurry - left the Malton Hotel in Killarney and boarded the AW 139 waiting for him outside. (During the minister's address the helicopter was spotted by local people flying circles over the nearby National Park. Was that waste of fuel necessary as well?) Once again there were only two passengers - Cullen and his assistant - in the 15-seater aircraft.
Shortly after take-off the left side door suddenly detached itself and crashed into the National Park from a height of 150 metres. (It has meanwhile been located and removed by Aer Corps personnel.) As reported yesterday already, the helicopter then made an emergency landing at the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club.

Martin Cullen emerged "visibly shaken", but determined to be flown to Dublin. He was brought by car to Co. Kerry's regional airport at nearby Farranfore, where another Aer Corps AW 139 picked him up later and flew him and his assistant to the capital.
This second helicopter had been over Co. Cork, as part of a combined exercise involving the Aer Corps and the Naval Service. It was ordered to abandon its operation and became the second air taxi for Martin Cullen in one day, which raised the costs for the minister's travel from Waterford to Dublin via Killarney to a staggering € 16,260!!!

The fact that a third AW 139 was used to fly the Aer Corps' investigation team from Baldonnel to Killarney added a further € 8130 to the expenses, though the minister can of course not be held responsible for that, or the incident itself.
However, his inflated ego and sense of self-importance, which made him travel in an Aer Corps helicopter rather than in his ministerial car, has cost the Irish taxpayers dearly. Three of the Aer Corps' six AW 139 had to be used, which is one third of Ireland's entire military helicopter fleet. The cost of the whole affair, including the aftermath, investigation and recovery of the fallen-off door, will be in the area of € 35,000, not counting the costs for repairing the damaged AW 139. How such a sum could ever be justified for a minor domestic appearance and short speech by one of the lesser cabinet ministers is beyond my capacity of understanding.

But it is not even the worst misuse of Aer Corps aircraft by an Irish government minister. A few years ago (the then Tánaiste) Mary Harney (left) - now the widely hated Minister for Health - used the main government jet to fly from Dublin to Sligo, for the sole purpose of being present at the opening of a personal friend's new off-licence (shop for alcoholic drinks).
Such was the political culture in our 'Celtic Tiger' banana republic...

This afternoon a caller to the Live Line programme (with Joe Duffy) on RTÉ Radio 1 pointed out that Martin Cullen could have easily taken a regular Ryan Air flight from Kerry to Dublin.
But Ireland's most popular tourist airline seemed to be not good enough for the cabinet minister with responsibility for the country's Tourism.

Slice by slice and day by day the true dimensions of our scandalous banana republic become ever more visible, even though - to quote a song popular in the 1930s - "No, we grow no bananas". In a state of unprecedented arrogance and ignorance our incompetent government ministers - and in particular those belonging to Fianna Fáil - behave almost like French aristocrats before 1789 or medieval princes with feudal powers. They have forgotten that they were elected by the Irish people, in order to represent them. Instead they live in a world of their own, on a little golden planet that only exists in their imagination. Unfortunately they make the rest of us, all those who live in the real world, pay for their extravagant lifestyle of luxury and pretence.

In two weeks' time - on St. Patrick's Day - it will even be worse, as almost every Irish minister will use the occasion to fly off - always first class - to faraway places at taxpayers' expense. The Taoiseach will fly to Washington, to present a bowl of shamrock to President Barack Obama, if he likes it or not.
This 'tradition', only invented in the late 20th century, reminds me of medieval vassals, who had once a year to pay tribute to their overlord and humour him with presents.
We must be the only nation in the world where the whole government leaves the country on the National Day!

There is nothing wrong with presenting foreign leaders with a special gift of Irish shamrock on the 17th of March. But such friendly gestures fall into the portfolio of ambassadors. And we have plenty of them abroad. What is the point in having them, if they are not even entrusted with the handing over of a bunch of shamrock...?

I am begining to wonder if yesterday's falling-off of the helicopter's door was a kind of omen, a special sign for the situation we are in. It is somehow telling that by now even Irish aircraft are losing parts in mid-air, after the wheels fell off our banks first, and then off our entire economy.

The fighters of 1916, whose blood was the final price for our eventual independence, must be rotating in their graves when they see Fianna Fáil turning our Aer Corps into the party's private air transport service. On Liveline today one of the many angry callers suggested that we need a real revolution in Ireland, and that some heads need to roll...
It would not surprise me if views like his are gaining more momentum, thanks to self-serving arrogant wasters like Martin Cullen. His ilk has sparked revolutions before...

The Emerald Islander

The Con of the Season

Ireland's Commission for Aviation Regulation has urged a travel company called United Travel to wind down their business and refund the customers.

At least 1175 children and adults are booked with the agency to fly from Dublin to Lapland during the month of December, for the sole purpose of meeting 'Santa Claus' at his apparent home there.

But this is now unlikely to happen, as United Travel does not have a licence to operate. The Aviation Regulator refused to grant the travel agent a licence because he was unhappy with the company's financial situation.

Con Murphy, Managing Director of United Travel, says that he applied for a licence again this week, and that he is "hopeful the passengers intending to travel to Lapland will be able to do so", whether with him or another agent.

I will refrain from playing on the obvious that Mr. Murphy is aptly named. There are many like him who provide illusions, escapism, idiotic stunts and a whole variety of silly things to people with more money than brains.

When I heard of this, I first refused to believe it. But some research established that there is indeed a thriving 'industry' in Ireland that flies stupid and irresponsible parents and their gullible children to northern Finland each December, in order to meet 'Santa'. United Travel is only one of the agencies involved, but apparently the only one without a licence to operate.

The prices for these trips are quite substantial, especially when one takes into account that the people actually pay good money for a flight into the middle of nowhere, to encounter a figment of imagination, portrayed for gullible idiots by an actor who works for the company and is placed in some suitable stage settings.
People phoning into Live Line on RTÉ Radio 1 stated that they had paid as much as € 4000 for the ultimate exercise in self-delusion.

And there I was, under the impression that we are in a recession and money is tight. Obviously not yet tight enough when thousands of Irish people are willing to spend thousands of Euros each on such an unbelievably idiotic trip.

Since there are apparently three classes of idiots, United Travel offers three 'packages': the basic one-day round trip (fly to the middle of nowhere, meet a non-existent person, and fly home again) as well as visits of two and three days length.

On the company's website the one-day trip is described as follows:
"Upon arrival at the official airport of Santa Claus, having cleared passport control and customs, you will be met by your local guides in traditional Lappish costume to assist you to your designated coach and help you in collecting your thermal outfit (overalls, winter shoes, scarves, socks and gloves will be provided) for the duration of your stay in Lapland.
As soon as you get your thermal outfit organised, your elf guide will be waiting to transfer you to Santa's Winter Wonderland, which is reserved exclusively for United Travel guests, located around 30 minutes distance.
At Santa's Winter Wonderland, you will be welcomed by the sound of your favourite Christmas carols, which are played all over this magical playground. Keep yourself and your party warm with warm berry juice and ginger bread served beside the fireplace during the stay."

Similar texts - with more details - also describe the longer trips.
Just a few remarks to the text above:

• The place people are flown to is actually Rovaniemi, the administrative city of Lappi, the most northern - and by far largest - province of Finland.
• I wonder what Lappi's governor Hannele Pokka (in office since 1994 and the first woman to hold the post) would say to a dodgy Irish travel agent renaming her regional airport. (What would we say if someone in Finland would declare - for example - Knock Airport "the official airport of the Leprechauns"?)
• As both Ireland and Finland are members of the EU, there is neither a passport control nor any customs clearing. (After all, one of the main functions of the EU is a customs union.)
  
• People who cannot collect a few clothes without being helped by others must be in a serious state of physical and mental deterioration. (But then again, if they were sane and sound, they would never book the trip in the first place...) And anyone flying into the Arctic Circle without proper clothing and outfit is either an enormous fool, or suicidal.
• The website does not say if those clothes and shoes are given to every passenger to keep, or if they are worn by a different person every day. If the latter is the case, the concept of hygiene seems not to be part of the world United Travel and its passenger live in.
• It is interesting to learn that "Santa's Winter Wonderland" is "reserved exclusively for United Travel guests". Isn't it rather befitting that the imagined home of a fictional person is "reserved exclusively" for a company without a trading licence, which therefore is legally as non-existent as 'Santa'. (One wonders if there is any 'wonderland' at all, or if the whole thing is a massive con through and through... somehow the old story of the emperor's new clothes comes to mind...)
  
• In case there is actually a place with some 'Santa', being bombarded with piped music all day is a form of mental torture (banned by the UN) and can seriously damage one's mind. On second thoughts - those who go there have probably not much to lose in that matter.
  

Now, I regard myself as quite a tolerant man, and I have an open mind for all sorts of things most people would regard as unusual or weird. But this is way beyond the Pale, and I wonder how daft and brain-dead people must be who find this utter nonsense attractive, book it and pay € 4000 for it up front.

It is certainly the most shameless, tasteless and senseless commercialisation of the already highly secularised and consumerist idea of Christmas. And the fact that the company is selling expensive tickets without having a licence to fly really is the biscuit. It's definitely the con of the season.

But then again, people who are so devoid of brain functions that they willingly go for such a fraud and even tell Joe Duffy of Live Line how "devastated" they would be if they really could not fly to Lapland, probably had it coming and deserve to be taken for the fools they are. And - as an old word of wisdom tells us - a fool and his money are easily parted.

The Aviation Regulator has advised United Travel to wind down their business and refund their customers. But I have a better idea. Instead of giving back the money to fools who seem to have way too much of it, the sums paid for the flights should be seized by the Revenue Commissioners as a special new fools' tax.
As we are in recession and the government is so short of money, they can do with every extra Euro and cent. I would even go further and charge all 'Santa flyers' an annual levy of the same amount for the next three years. Hard times bring hard measures, and those who feel that they can in these times waste good money in the most idiotic way deserve to be punished.

Not even to mention the extra pollution and damage to the environment caused by the idiotic nonsense. Perhaps Finance Minister Brian Lenihan should modify his new air travel tax and raise it for any flights to Lapland to € 100 per passenger and flight.

Parents who drag their little children along to such a preposterous tissue of lies and exploitation should be charged with mental cruelty and child abuse. They should lose custody of the children.

It is bad enough to feed small children all the elaborate lies about Christmas and 'Santa', and worse to go to the so-called 'grottos' greedy shopping centres erect every December.
There mindless and cruel parents pay between 15 and 25 Euros (in some places perhaps even more) per child, in order to have their offspring conned even further by a fat man in a red suit, wearing a fake beard of white cotton wool.

Children are not stupid, and most know from observation how a real beard looks. So what is the point to usher a child for a few minutes into the presence of an obvious fake and pay good money for it?

Most modern people are really not fit to be parents, but in December they behave the worst.
Why are parents lying to children? And furthermore, why do they construct elaborate tissues of lies which are then supported by encounters with someone pretending to be a 'Santa'? (The most confusing thing for small children accompanying their mother or parents into the city is to see in the different shops several versions of 'Santa'. That a very young mind cannot work out properly and it can lead to all sorts of behavioural problems.)

Psychological research has well established that children are not stupid and can spot lies rather easily. Children also have a growing memory and often remember even the smallest details from their early years. When they grow older, they begin to realise that their parents are lying to them, and not just with regards to Christmas and 'Santa'.
This leads to mistrust and alienation, which can end in parents and children living in completely different worlds. Breakdown of family structures, disrespect for the parents, odd and unruly behaviour and petty crime are often the consequences. Some of these children will then progress through further stages into more serious crimes, gang culture and drug abuse.

Of course not every child that is dragged to 'Santa' ends up as a criminal or druggie. But there are many other kinds of illusion and escapism, often happily supported and even fuelled by the media, and especially television.
If we are wondering why our society is becoming ever more dysfunctional, we should look at the way that we - parents, teachers, the media and society as a whole - treat children and young people.

The disrespect we show children from earliest age onwards by feeding them with lies and all sorts of weird and unreal stories is stored, replicated and multiplied over the years, until the natural bonds of trust break. Once this happens, there is really no way back. And all attempts of repairing the damage later is not more than papering over the cracks, pretending - with another lie - that all will be fine. The cracks are still there, we cannot make them disappear. In most cases they will become larger with time, no matter how much we cover them up.

So if you want to live in a better society, stop lying to children and stop exploiting every last bit of culture, lore, tradition and imagination for the sole purpose of making already rich people even richer.

Few people seem to remember that the modern image of 'Santa' in its commercialised form was created during the 1920s in the USA, by no other than the Coca Cola company of Atlanta, Georgia.
They used it first to increase their sales figures during the Winter, when people were naturally less thirsty than in the Summer.
And as the corporate colours of Coca Cola are red and white, 'Santa' was clad accordingly (and still is).

The traditional roots of 'Santa' go of course much further back into history and mythology. They combine several figures - animistic wood spirits, Pagan gods and a Christian bishop - into one fictional creature, which is depicted and enacted quite differently, depending on the country, its culture, tradition and religion.
But that is really an article in its own right, and I will write it tomorrow, the traditional feast day of Saint Nicholas.

Until then I can only urge you to keep your sanity - and your money - and stay well clear of the Con of the Season.

The Emerald Islander

Irish Health Insurance becomes unaffordable

Another day, another outrage or scandal. This is the life now in modern Ireland, under the most careless and incompetent government imaginable.

Today's outrage is that the two main health insurance companies in Ireland, VHI and Quinn Healthcare, announced substantial price increases, to take effect in the New Year.

VHI has announced it is increasing its prices by 23% (!!!) from January 2009, while Quinn Healthcare said that it is to raise its insurance premiums by an average of 16% and in some cases up to 19%!

The announcements came out of the blue and have hit the people of Ireland unprepared, at a time of severe economic recession and a serious financial crisis that affects everyone, from the largest companies to the last unemployed youngster.

In case of the VHI it also follows a long chain of continuous price hikes over the past few years. Last year their premium went up by 8.5%, and in 2005 and 2006 by 12.5% per annum. This is an increase in health insurance costs of one third over three years, and - adding today's price rise to it - of 56.5% over four years.
Although many things have become more expensive over the years, there is no evidence that in fact the costs for providing health care have risen by more than eleven times the inflation rate in the short period of four years. So what we see here from VHI is nothing but plain extortion.

Both companies are trying to excuse the announced price increase with the new health insurance levy, which - they claim - "is twice its intended rise of 8%".

Anyone who has the slightest bit of common sense and at least some knowledge of mathematics will know that this is hogwash.

The real reason for this scandalous - and for most people unaffordable - increase in premiums is that the insurance companies want to streamline their membership. Their main target is to push many older and poor people, who are more likely to need medical and hospital treatment, off their books. Thus they will become more profitable, which will please their share holders.

On the Live Line programme on RTÉ Radio 1 there were already many calls today, all from distressed and outraged Irish people, who realised that they can no longer afford their health insurance. Some have been cancelling their policies already today, others are in despair, not knowing what to do.

Thank you, Mary Harney, for making Ireland's health service even more American, unfair and unaffordable as it is already!

For an average family the price rise will mean about € 400 extra payment for health insurance per annum. For people on low incomes, and for recipients of ordinary state pensions, this is simply impossible.
And there are even a lot of the younger people who - now that we are in a recession - will find it extremely difficult to afford the additional payment, which is more than four times the inflation rate with VHI and three times with Quinn.

The Minister for Health Mary Harney (left) came out today rather fast and said sheepishly that she was "very concerned about the rise", describing it as a "major burden for families".

Of course this is an immense burden for families, and for everyone who is single as well. We don't need 'Miss Piggy' to tell us so.

In fact, her statement adds insult to injury, as it was Mary Harney herself who removed the ministerial regulation from the health insurers. Thus they can now raise their prices as they please, no longer controlled or restricted by the government. (Under the old rules any increase in health insurance would have to be approved by the Minister, who could object to it within 28 days after it was announced.)

Mary Harney has no concerns for the Irish people, their health and well-being, and least of all for their financial problems. She lives in the cosy cocoon of another world, perhaps even another planet. She never sees sick people and is only concerned with the ever more radical privatisation of hospitals and health services, so her friends in the private health industry can rake in ever more and ever larger profits.

On the Live Line programme today it was mentioned that an ordinary (public) general hospital in Ireland is now charging a patient the outrageous sum of € 4,300 per day, just for the bed and the little food that is served. Operations and other medical treatments are charged extra (but surprisingly often less costly than just the bed, which is there all the time anyway).

And if that were not scandalous enough, one caller reported that his sick wife was charged the princely sum of € 12,000 per day for a bed in a private hospital in Dublin.
This is even beyond the level of a scandal. This is criminal extortion!

It is also another example of the utterly corrupt culture Fianna Fáil and the PDs have created in Ireland over the past eleven years they have been in government. Under their leadership ever more money is given to their rich and super-rich friends, while the ordinary and hard-working people of Ireland are ever more squeezed and robbed of the little they have.

As regular readers of this weblog will know, I am no friend of the British and their 750 years of colonial rule over this island. But in all fairness one has to acknowledge that even under British rule conditions were not as scandalous, unfair and corrupt as they are now, after eleven years of continuous rule by the incompetent and cleptocratic regime of Fianna Fáil and their coalition partners.

While ministers, senior civil servants and self-serving spongers like Rody Molloy are living the life of Reilly at our expense, the majority of Irish people are robbed left, right and centre by an unholy coalition of the government, the banks, the insurance companies and many other private businesses.

Life in general, and everything connected with it, is on average at least twice as expensive in Ireland than it is in other EU countries. And I am not even talking about the newer members of the union in the east and south-east of Europe. Anywhere in Europe - from Austria to the UK - people have a better quality of life, at half of the costs (or even less) than people in Ireland have to pay.

We have the highest insurance rates - for people, houses, cars and everything else - as well as the most expensive food, drinks, supplies, fuels and utility services. Our infrastructure is of 19th century standard, but we are charged more than twice for public transport, electricity, gas and communication services than anyone else in Europe.

Even with house prices falling now, the purchase of a home here is still between two and three times more costly than on the Continent. And rents, although falling as well now, are twice as high as in most of the other EU countries. Not to mention that tenants on the Continent have plenty of rights and protection from exploitation and rogue landlords, while there are still no proper tenant rights in Ireland.

In 86 years of running our own affairs no Irish government has made the slightest effort to improve the living and general conditions for our people. However, since a majority of Irish voters keeps electing the same incompetent and corrupt people - many from the same 'political' families - and the same old parties over and over again, we probably deserve nothing better.

"Every country has the government it deserves," a wise old philosopher wrote a very long time ago. And his words are still correct.

If we want change, we have to stop being lazy fools, get up from our chairs and do something about it. The Americans have just elected a new President, whose main message is "Hope and Change". If we want to see some new hope for a better future, and a change of our political and social conditions, we have to do the same and elect new people with fresh ideas, people who are capable of change and untarnished by the corrupt and cumbersome system that drags us down, but makes politicians rich and complacent.

We don't know when the next general election will be called. Theoretically the government has still 3 1/2 years of leeway, although I very much doubt that they will last that long.

But next year we have local government elections coming up, and the election of the members of the European Parliament. These are the first opportunities to show what we really want. We can kick the incompetent Councillors from the old parties out and fill our county and city councils with new people of different parties, or - even better - Independents.

Waterford has done this already in 2004. Of the 15 Councillors on Waterford City Council four are now Independents, while there is only one man from Fianna Fáil left. The Council shows a healthy mix of people's views, with four seats for Fine Gael, three for the Labour Party, two for Sinn Féin and one for the Workers' Party.
I very much hope that the rest of Ireland will follow Waterford's example and make sure that Fianna Fáil and the Green Party are told where to go: home, and out of business.

But this will of course not solve the problem of the criminal increase in health insurance. I would advise to make your anger felt and heard as much as it is possible. Write letters to newspapers, call Live Line and your local radio stations, and speak with your constituency TDs, regardless of their party.
Express your anger, your thoughts and feelings, and let the TDs know that you will hold them responsible for what happens.

It might not make the rises disappear, but perhaps one can bring them down to an affordable level.
Even though Mary Harney has relinquished her intervention right, a simple act of government could reinstate it, or introduce other measures.

VHI is a large, solid and wealthy organisation, which has extorted more than enough money from the Irish people over the past years.
And Quinn Healthcare (formerly BUPA Ireland) is part of the Quinn Insurance Group, privately owned by Sean Quinn (above) from Co. Fermanagh, Ireland's richest man with a personal fortune of over € 4 billion.
He became a billionaire on the backs and with the money of Ireland's sick people. And he still rakes in massive profits. So he can well afford to show some generosity to our sick and elderly, especially at a time when the country is in a serious recession that makes most of us poorer.

And you can of course always switch your insurance to another company. Even though VHI and Quinn are the two largest in Ireland, there are others as well.

For example, Hibernian Health has said today that it has "no plans to increase its health insurance premiums at this time". That is a piece of good news at last, in this sea of scandals.

This is still a free country with a free market, so shop around and select the best option available. One of the worst traits of Irish people is inflexibility, which leads to the ridiculous attitude of preferring "the devil you know" to anyone else.
If we stick to that sort of thinking, we can as well hand over all our money to those who are out to rob the poor for the benefit of the rich.

And as under EU laws the insurance markets are deregulated, you could even obtain insurance cover from a company outside of Ireland. Look and shop around, search on-line and talk to an independent advisor. There are better ways than just resigning yourself to the apparent 'powers to be'.

Ireland is in general a great little country, full of decent people. If they all combine their will, initiative and power as citizens, consumers and voters, we can and will see a change for the good. If not, we can as well pronounce Brian Cowen Taoiseach for life, swallow 40 sleeping tablets and jump into the next deep river.

The Emerald Islander