to think that will all the massive cuts that are being made it is odd

[2shoes]

that the government can lend another country billions....
now I know there will be a good reason for them doing it, but if we are so in debt, how the hell can we find money to lend to others??

i didn't get any cheese!

We're not rummaging around under the sofa for money to lend them now. The UK Government has already lent the money to Ireland over a period of time. What 'bail out' means is that Ireland's debt to the UK Government will be restructured (ie the repayment terms will have to change, perhaps with a different interest structure and a longer repayment time frame) and it's possible that we won't get all the money back.

If we don't cooperate in helping Ireland restructure its debt, and Ireland goes bust, we'll definitely get nothing back. In addition, our biggest trading partner won't be able to buy anything off us, which will leave us even further up shit creek. Whereas if we help them, we will probably get some of the money we've already lent them back. It's bad that Ireland is in this position, but - given that Ireland is in this position - huffing and puffing about the UK Government wanting to protect its trade and get some of its loan money back is just daft.

thanks for the nice replies, shock horror not every one understand this kind of thing,
but telling people to fuck off when they don't understand really helps....

we'll get interst back in return

and if we dont give them money our economy will suffer more because we export so much to them

so is it secured on something?

Thanks pottonista - that makes sense.

it was a question KM
look and see.
and please don't lets start about what england has done to Ireland... or it will just get into a row.
is it not a question worth asking, to try and understand, how the government can say one thing and do another?

"try to understand that England fucked Ireland for many many many years"

Wouldn't it be nice if now the UK/Eire relationship could be all about looking forward and making a better future rather than constantly harking back to ancient history and playing the 'potato card' every time there's a minor greivance?

A lot of it is to do with how exposed RBS are to the Irish banks - the figure quoted on the news last night was £53bn.

If bailing out the Irish banks prevents RBS needing further support from the UK government, or even from going under and therefore not repaying what it has already had from UK taxpayers then that is a good thing.

I agree that some move should have been made on corporation tax.

I'm surprised the Irish took the money TBH - things must be very very bad.

Dont expect them to be grateful for it.

Asking ireland to raise its corporation tax rate is asking them to compete on a level playing field, which is the last thing they or we need. All the business would flee to Poland or other low cost countries.

I think it is in the uk's interest to lend the money...so we're not exactly doing it out of generosity.
And the money isn't coming from our budget. We'll borrow and lend...makeing a profit hopefully.

"and please do also try to understand that England fucked Ireland for many many many years. In many many many ways. "

I think I can hear a violin playing.

If you dont want the loan, can we please have it back?

'Potato card'

Litchick thanks, I get that now.

should we really delve into the past, because if we did we could find a lot of fault on both sides. but it doesn't solve the problem now, and if anything makes people like me wonder why the government bother if the irish seem to hate us so much.

'Stripped' or 'bought'?.... All that food you're talking about wasn't stolen under cover of darkness, was it? It was bought by the UK and sold by the Irish. Unless you're referring back to the 18th/19th Centuries again....

How is the potato famine, etc. relevant in this case? We are not lending the money because of some kind of misplaced guilt complex - we are lending it because we need Ireland as an export market.

It's the 21st Century and Ireland, up until very recently, was doing very well economically... trading briskly and having to import 250,000 extra people every year just to keep pace with the growth. The problems now have nothing to do with what happened 200-300 years ago any more than the problems in the UK can be pinned on WWII or the Napoleonic Wars.

Stop worrying about the past KerryMumbles, and start thinking about how you are going to pay the UK back.

Is there anything in your house you could sell?

KerryMumbles - there are problems in Africa that pre-date the UK ever going there. Also, we did not colonise 'most of Africa'. How can you know what kind of state 'most of Africa' would be in now without earlier European influence? You can't.

I didn't notice you praising the UK for its influence on Ireland when Ireland were doing well. It's all too easy to start pointing the finger when things go wrong for you.