Inter-Alpha Grabs for 8% of Ireland's GDP

The Inter-Alpha Banking Group's savage four-year plan for Ireland, announced yesterday by soon-to-be ex-Prime Minister Brian Cowen, will mean that fully eight percent of Irish GDP will be diverted from the Irish economy,— mostly from the subsistence of pensioners, the unemployed, and workers and farmers,— to a futile attempt to rescue Inter-Alpha from bankruptcy. The plan Cowen announced would "save" 15 billion euro over four years, or 4% of Irish GDP, on top of 14.8 billion in similar "savings" wrung from depression-racked Ireland by five separate such "packages" rammed through over the past two years.

The Irish who won their freedom and their sovereignty from Brutish imperialism on the American model after centuries of struggle, are not about to put up with this now.

The package includes cutting social welfare by 3 billion euro, reducing public sector pay by 1.2 billion euro and increasing the VAT national sales tax.

The four-year plan warned that the drastic cuts will negatively impact on the living standards of the people of Ireland. Indeed!

Most of the 45% hitherto considered too poor to pay income tax, will now have to pay it.

Public Service pensions will be cut an average of 4% for current pensioners; new hires will have a 10% cut in wages.

The minimum wage will be cut by one euro to 7.65 euro, or 12%.

VAT will increase 1% to 22% in 2013 and to 23% in 2014, a 9% increase.

The public sector workforce will be cut by 24,750, and student fees will increase to 2,000 euro for each year in college.

Water metering will be brought in by 2014, and carbon tax charges will double to 30 euro a tonne, raising 330 million euro.

The Irish will pay an annual tax on their homes for the first time, starting at a minimum level of 100 euro.