He said whaaaaaaaaaaaa ???????
Regular readers of this blog will know that from time to time yours truly feels like he has to have his ears syringed when he can’t quite believe what he’s hearing guests on the show say.
Before this evening the most memorable occasion for me was when Patricia Callan of the Small Firms Association told us how much the Irish State pays to its suppliers each year in late payment interest. I have consciously wiped the figure from my brain but I vaguely recall it was north of €500 million.!!!!!!! Well North of €500million. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhh!
Anyway it happened again this evening on the programme. There I was interviewing the Chief Economist of AIB Oliver Mangan. We had an interesting enough conversation about the current economic outlook, prospects for the Eurozone, growth and so on and so forth. I felt a bit reluctant to rain on the Parade seeing as Oliver and I were chatting away so amicably but I felt I couldn’t ignore a rather large elephant in the room – well on the phone line / in the studio actually. You see Goodbody’s Stockbrokers have just released a report last week which stated that in their view it looked like AIB was unlikely to be able to repay €3.5billion in preference shares to the Irish Government by the due date. The implications are somewhat considerable given that Goodbodys are also warning in the report that AIB may require a further bailout. Given that Ireland Inc has had to go into hock for €21billion for AIB to date the prospect of having to inject more is to my mind pretty horrendous. So I somewhat gingerly broached the question as to whether Oliver would like to comment on this report. Oliver demurred not as I had half expected because it might be inappropriate for him to do so but because ………….. he wasn’t aware of / hadn’t read the report. HE WASN’T AWARE OF / HADN’T READ THE REPORT IN QUESTION. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhh!
On a brighter note …….
Delighted to chat with Patrick Keogh of Rathwood in our first “A Year in the Life” features which we are running with the Carlow Nationalist And Carlow Chamber. Rathwood just outside Tullow is a great family business that has continued to grow, evolve and adapt even in the toughest times.
As if 8 children didn’t keep them busy enough already Sarah Jane Cooney and Kathleen Yeates decided now was a good time to start a business. “Party Dreamers” has just been launched and specialises in organising childrens themed parties. They came into the studio to talk to us:
The glass is half full – Fiona Deegan, Acting CEO of Kilkenny County Enterprise Board joined us on the show to tell us about an owner/manager event the Board is holding in the Newpark Hotel Kilkenny on June 26th. We also chatted about the current environment for job seekers and entrepreneurs and KCEB’s support for the KCLR Jobs and Opportunities Fair which is taking place in the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel on June 28th and 29th.
Don’t forget the Business Table Quiz in the 7 Oaks in Carlow on Thursday June 20th. It’s in aid of the Laura Lynn Hospice Foundation. Teams of 4 €40. Yours truly is the Question Master (I’ve started so I’ll finish). Fun will be had …..
And of course where would we be without Tom Molloy of the Irish Independent – we talked IMF, Elan and INM. Pithy that …….
As always if you have something you think the show should cover, get in touch with either myself or Edwina Grace at [email protected]
The Bottom Line is produced by Edwina Grace.
Until next week …..
John Purcell
Regards
John
