http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0331/1224314162823.html
Cash on deposit in banks fell €14.6bn in February
DAN O'BRIEN, Economics Editor and CHARLIE TAYLOR
ACROSS THE entire banking system, including institutions at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), cash on deposit fell by €14.6 billion month on month in February, according to new figures from the Central Bank. This was the largest decline since May of last year.
The total deposit base of Ireland-resident banks stood at €558 billion at the end of February. This is down by almost half from the peak in January 2009, when total deposits stood at €980 billion.
In the second half of 2010 the system suffered a huge outflow of funds, mainly caused by foreign depositors withdrawing cash. The rate of outflow slowed early last year, but the erosion of the deposit base has continued. Foreign withdrawals continue to account for most of the shrinking deposit base.
Irish private-sector depositors accounted for just over a quarter of the total deposit base in Ireland-resident banks.
At the end of February, Irish private deposits stood at €162 billion, unchanged on a month earlier. The stability of these deposits in February reflects a longer term pattern. Irish private sector depositors have reduced their deposits by just 13 per cent since their all-time high in August 2009.
Households are the largest source of deposits from the Irish private sector. Their total cash in banks stood at €91.2 billion at the end of February, a marginal decline on the previous month.
Companies of all kinds had just under €71 billion lodged in Irish-based banks at the end of last month, again broadly unchanged on a month earlier.
Borrowings by banks in Ireland on longer-term loans from the ECB fell by €7.9 billion in February, to €87 billion, due to a decline in IFSC banks’ recourse to refinancing operations.
The other side of the banks’ aggregate balance sheet shows that the credit crunch is continuing to affect households and businesses. Lending to households fell by €355 million during February following a decline of €691 million in January.
Developments in February were largely driven by a decline in loans for house purchase of €224 million, while loans for consumption and other purposes also decreased by €107 million and €23 million respectively. Loans to households were 4 per cent lower than in February of last year.
Lending for house purchases was 2.5 per cent lower on an annual basis in February, while lending for consumption and other purposes declined by 8.4 per cent over the same period.
and protest over the property tax
and protest over the property tax
IRISH TIMES REPORTERS
Thousands of demonstrators protested against the household charge in Dublin today as the deadline for the €100 levy approached.
Gardaí said that some 5,000 people had taken part in the protest, which began at Parnell Square at 1pm and culminated in a rally near the Convention Centre, where Fine Gael is holding its annual Ard Fheis.
Protest organisers said afterwards that up to 10,000 people had participated.
A Garda spokesman said the march passed off peacefully.
However, a man mistaken for Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan was surrounded, jostled and pushed to the floor by a small group participating in the rally.
The man - who insisted "They've got the wrong guy. I'm not Phil Hogan" - was helped into a Garda car which was subsequently rocked by a small number of protestors before leaving the scene.
As of 5pm, some 735,000 properties had registered for the levy, including around 60,000 that have paid at council offices. Around 45 per cent of all households have now paid ahead of the deadline at midnight.
A further 12,677 properties have registered for waivers and a further 89,000 postal applications have yet to be processed.
Speaking at the Fine Gael Ardfheis, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the rate of online registrations running at over 5,000 an hour. However, the final figure will almost certainly fall far short of the Government’s own projections.
Mr Kenny said today's protest was perfectly legitimate but he also pointed out that the household charge was now the law of the land.
He said the new tax was about the provision of services in every town and village in the country.
“I am heartened by the number that have registered online today,” he said.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the rate of registrations varies across the country, from 25 per cent in northern counties to 50 per cent in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
“I am heartened by the number that have registered online today,” he said.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the rate of registrations varies across the country, from 25 per cent in northern counties to 50 per cent in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
The State’s 34 city and county councils face having to make significant cuts in local services if revenues fall short.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan told parliamentary colleagues this week that the budgetary allocation for local government had been made – taking account of the €160 million revenue projected from the new tax – and no further funds would be made available.
The Local Government Management Agency has been given responsibility for collecting the new tax and compiling the database of all liable households. Efforts to make householders compliant with the new charge will be the sole responsibility of the local authorities and the agency.
The fund will be allocated evenly among local authorities, taking account of population size, and will not reflect the level of uptake of the new charge in each area.
Agency chief executive Paul McSweeney said yesterday it would take some weeks to process all registrations. Once complete the agency would compile a full register, using a number of databases, including those of the ESB and Revenue; the second-home tax register and the register of private rented accommodation.
The database would allow non-registering households to be identified. The extent of access to those databases will need to be agreed by Data Commissioner Billy Hawkes.
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