Public Sector Protest Photos

Click on images for full size on my photoblog (here).

54.5 million for Polish Dell plant

The EU, in its wisdom, has decided that now would be a good time to grant Poland a 54.5 million euro aid package to help launch the Dell plant that recently moved to Poland from Limerick (See here).

RTE say; "After an in-depth investigation, the EU competition authority said the aid was compatible with the bloc's rules, despite protests from Ireland, where Dell is closing its factory in Limerick...The Commission said its investigation had shown that job losses in Ireland would not be a consequence of the aid granted by the Polish authorities to the Lodz factory."

Patricia McKenna of the People's Movement says (and I agree with her); “this decision by the European Commission is a slap in the face to Irish workers and exposes the EU’s hypocrisy and disregard for Irish jobs. It is truly ironic that the EU Commission is here in Ireland urging Irish voters to vote ‘Yes’ to the Lisbon Treaty under the guise of jobs and the economy, while it is
allowing new member states like Poland to provide massive financial bribes to companies to move their operations out of Ireland.”

See the full press release by Patricia McKenna here

Now here's something truly scary

Forget horror movies, the Irish Economy is where it's at if you want to b e scared these days.

I came across this in my boredom today. It's a real-time counter for Ireland's debt. I find it truly terrifying.

Speaking of terrifying things- the NTMA have a website which details excellently how buggered the country is.

It even has a strange disclaimer before you enter the site, which reminded me of the health warnings that accompany cigarettes.

The above chart- also courtesy of the NTMA (via politics.ie) - is similarly scary.

This Hallowe'en, I'm dressing up as a statistic.