The Front Pages
The Irish Times’ main headline today reads ‘Government sets up group to consider disposal of State Assets’. With an €84 billion debt hanging over our heads, a new Review Group on State Assets is set to be led by economist Colm McCarthy, appointed by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan.
Airports, RTE and the ESB are amongst the number of public sector assets that will be considered to relieve the national debt. The Times also mentions that the sale of such assets could generate a lucrative return – with the example of the ESB used, whose power plants, network and energy business are valued at €7 billion alone alone.
The Irish Independent front page has no mention of the Review Group, and instead focuses on Ireland’s bailed-out banks, with the headline ‘Banks ‘lied’ about scale of losses in crisis talks’ in order for the government to guarantee all their deposits.
According to the Independent’s Deputy Political Editor Michael Brennan, a top civil servant has admitted the country’s bank had been ‘likely to have been dishonest’ in their dealings with the government in order to ensure Irish taxpayers were left to foot the bill for the €440 billion bail-outs.
