[Clive McDonald]

A bit shocked at the news coming out of Southern Ireland.If the news is to be believed their is a mass exodus of young men and the economy is stagnating. I wonder if the window cleaners over there  could say how this is affecting them and flesh things out a bit.

If things don't go right we could well end up in the same spot.

[Neil kell]

they are over here cleaning windows

Well I hope there's no spots missed. There's actually a famine of work over here at the moment and has been for a good while now. I would'nt be investing 3 or 4 grand into a marketing strategy any time soon here. We ain't seen nothing yet though. I'm just down to a one man show and even now its as if the competitors have cut the phone lines. People are just paralysed with fear to spend a few bob with the uncertainty of whats coming down the tracks. Fun and games.

[bad trippy]

sad times, Britain next me thinks

[HIGH LEVEL WINDOW CLEANERS (scrimmy)]

start worrying if spain gets hit......spains biggest bank santander has been doing a rbs and buying up small banks and finance companies and if it goes toxic then the euro is a fish out of water.

[Londoner]

We think there is no money about but there still is for some. Went shopping yesterday in Selfridges, Oxford St. The place was heaving.
The prices in Selfridges are off the wall, scarves £85, jumpers £300 but everywhere you look people were buying.

Me I'm more of a Primark man.

[Nathanael Jones]

A bit shocked at the news coming out of Southern Ireland.If the news is to be believed their is a mass exodus of young men and the economy is stagnating. I wonder if the window cleaners over there  could say how this is affecting them and flesh things out a bit.

If things don't go right we could well end up in the same spot.

I'm in the south of Ireland & the last couple of years have shown a steady decline in business. A lot less of the work over here is a regular round, many more "one off" jobs,.. but the phone doesn't ring nearly as much as it used to. My business didn't grow at all last year despite my efforts,... but on the upside I haven't lost any of my big jobs (yet) and the bills are still getting paid.

I give it 10 years before Chine "Buys" the EU and we're all put in labour camps!

[darren clarke]

the people who had it good during the good times and made loads of money wont be bothered,  it is only going to affect mr and mrs smith who are mortaged up to the hill, with new cars and loads on finance,  as they thought the good times will last for ever

[bobby p]

i think it will take a few years to really hit hard here. i was reading that in central europe the chinese are now velly big in road building projects . once they get a grip here (they already have the shipping,i live right next to the biggest uk container port,gone are the glory days of being a dock worker ) who knows how we will suffer

[Panorama]

The eu are you ones to blame. They forced the Irish public to vote for the euro until they got a yes vote, absolutely scandalous. It can never work because some countries are more richer than others.

[Neil kell]

Well maybe, but We are probably stronger in Europe than not. Iceland being a case in point. Our main problems here are home grown. the banking sector and loose lending, greedy property developers and light touch regulation. Yes there are external factors but the bulk of the money being drawn down from the IMF will go into a black hole to fix the banks. And people who aren't even born yet will have to pay for it. I just hope our idiot of a prime minister hasnt infected Portugal with his dithering. He'll be gone by next week or i'll drive a cement truck through government buildings, ha.

[trevor perry]

the EU lent ireland the money to do all the building work and infrastructure that has now gone t-ts up it then slowly increased the interest on these loans so ireland can no longer afford the loans, it is now offering the big bail out but the conditions to this bail out mean that ireland will no longer have any control over its own tax system so the truth is ireland and its people are now owned by the EU and my feeling is they will now duplicate this move with spain and portugal.
  The best thing ireland could have done would have been pull out of the EU go back to the irish punt and then de value their currency to pay of the loans i know this would of caused massive hardships but at least they would of had control of their own currency and got out of the control of this power hungry EU

[Neil kell]

the EU lent ireland the money to do all the building work and infrastructure that has now gone t-ts up it then slowly increased the interest on these loans so ireland can no longer afford the loans, it is now offering the big bail out but the conditions to this bail out mean that ireland will no longer have any control over its own tax system so the truth is ireland and its people are now owned by the EU and my feeling is they will now duplicate this move with spain and portugal.
  The best thing ireland could have done would have been pull out of the EU go back to the irish punt and then de value their currency to pay of the loans i know this would of caused massive hardships but at least they would of had control of their own currency and got out of the control of this power hungry EU

But the bond holders, whoever they are? would have lost a fortune and we'd never have been lent a penny ever again. I don't think Ireland leaving the EU was ever really an option. That would be like Texas leaving the Dollar. They won't be able to duplicate what you say thay have done here. the whole idea of this is to try to cut the rot before it spreads. If Portugal or especially Spain need similar measures taken, were in bother, coz they aint big enough to bail everyone out.

[trevor perry]

the EU lent ireland the money to do all the building work and infrastructure that has now gone t-ts up it then slowly increased the interest on these loans so ireland can no longer afford the loans, it is now offering the big bail out but the conditions to this bail out mean that ireland will no longer have any control over its own tax system so the truth is ireland and its people are now owned by the EU and my feeling is they will now duplicate this move with spain and portugal.
  The best thing ireland could have done would have been pull out of the EU go back to the irish punt and then de value their currency to pay of the loans i know this would of caused massive hardships but at least they would of had control of their own currency and got out of the control of this power hungry EU

But the bond holders, whoever they are? would have lost a fortune and we'd never have been lent a penny ever again. I don't think Ireland leaving the EU was ever really an option. That would be like Texas leaving the Dollar. They won't be able to duplicate what you say thay have done here. the whole idea of this is to try to cut the rot before it spreads. If Portugal or especially Spain need similar measures taken, were in bother, coz they aint big enough to bail everyone out.

  i hope you are right about portugal and spain but if they do need bailing out then there is only two options one being the fall of the Eu and the euro and the other being all members of EU giving up more of their soverignty and wealth to fund the bailouts so lets wait and see but if they do go ahead to replicate what they are doing in ireland in both portugal and spain then you can be sure they wont stop there.

[mileslake]

What's so great about the £.     We have the biggest deficit in Europe.  I would have the Euro every time.

[Dave Anderson]

For the average joe windy..now is the time to fill those gaps..think about your strategy's for medium to long term aspirations....

For the short term...plan to fill those gaps...and do it...

We know it's coming...so do something about your situation today...

It's like winter we all know it's coming...no point bleating you have no saved cash for weathered out days, weeks..

Ignore the signs ... that's upto you...

Cheers
Dave.

[JSMC]

uk will neve rbe allowed to join the euro. people here would go mental i htink if it happened. EU will be controlled by germany and franc eFACT

[dazmond]

the ironic thing is im doing better than ever now im wfp and steadily picking up more work plus more conny roofs!(im not doing any until after xmas as im too busy!)

i can honestly say ive never had it so good!!


as for ireland well im not sure whats going on but its not good.

there is plenty of people with money.they press make out everyones skint!its a total myth IMO



dazmond

[Crystal-clear]

I picked up 12 customers today (worked and canvassed) i feel this trade wont be affected with recession

i remember 2 years back or so when it all hit the papers UK BIGGEST BAIL OUT £40b Banks closing down all sorts of crap and guess what i was picking up new work getting paid from old customers all day long.

i feel sorry for the people who dont know whats going to happen with their job loans etc.
but i just dont know why window cleaning is like this its amazes me at times!

I am no expert but when it happend 2 years back my business was booming so i think we have nothing to worry about

[Panorama]

What's so great about the £.     We have the biggest deficit in Europe.  I would have the Euro every time.

the euro has been hyped up to a point where there is virtually no comparison to the pound. its all spin by the eu for us to join. but thankfully we havnt joined and the main reason is that the british public wouldnt accept it . any party that would take us into the euro would commit political suicide. look at greece , gone t*ts up, ireland lost their currency, spain and portugal struggling. its all a big gravy train, did you see the programme last week where the MEP's where clocking in at 8am to claim their allowance of 250 euro's per day only to p*ss off back to their relevant countries for the weekend. GRAVY TRAIN thats all it is

[mikecam]

A bit shocked at the news coming out of Southern Ireland.If the news is to be believed their is a mass exodus of young men and the economy is stagnating.

Why would that shock you? Apart from the last 15 years, Irelands biggest export for two hundred years or so has been its people. It was only opening up trade with the EU and being able to traverse the UK without uneccesary complications to trade in the rest of the EU that has enabled Eire to expand in the way it has. Ultimateley, its an Island enroute to no where. It biggest buisness has been export.
 Next you'll be suprised that Poland has shortages !!!!