Presbyterian sectarian appeal to Gordon Brown

[Bensars]

Tony has a point, if any other group asked for special privillage based on the fact that the decision maker shared the same religion there would be outrage. The BBC would have to lock their doors and close down the telephone exchange for the barrage of calls.
Imagine Martin mc Guinness first minister and the GAA made a plea for a financial bailout.  The outcry would be unreal

[Main Street]

Tony has a valid point which most have chosen to ignore to argue against with rationality.
But it is not reported that any politician are appealing to the UK pm's presbyt heart.
It is a presbyterian minister who is doing the heart appealing.
But you could imagine the outcry if the GAA had recklessly gambled away the uninsured and unregulatated deposits of its private members only savers accounts and have the Ulster GAA secretary appealing publicly to the gaelic heart of the deputy first minister who held the power of the purse strings
Though I do guess that Gordon Brown has a heart, for medical function only.

Good to see that discipline of the owc day shift has improved and "Tony watch" duties has them on their toes these days.
However the evening and night shift is a bit slack.

[nifan]

Ive said before several times the pms should not be bailed out.
The presby church claimed the pms had nothing to do with them, but now are appealing to a good presby heart.

I feel sorry for the people involved, but they invested in an unregulated vehicle and took the benefits when the going was good.

[Bensars]

The Prime Minister has agreed to set up a working group aimed at saving the Presbyterian Mutual Society.

It will include representatives from the Treasury and two Stormont departments.

The group is expected to bring forward a series of proposals by this September.

The plan was unveiled during a meeting Gordon Brown had with the first and deputy first ministers at Downing Street on Wednesday.

The Stormont departments to be involved in the working group are the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Department of Enterprise and Trade.

First Minister Peter Robinson said the government now accepted it had to act to help PMS savers, describing the working group as a "great step forward".

Welcoming the news, Presbyterian Moderator Dr Stafford Carson said he appreciated "the efforts of all involved to bring this about."

"The setting up of this group will bring together those with the expertise and ability to reach a solution around one table and I am confident that things are now moving forward towards resolving this very difficult situation," he added.

Ulster Bank

Earlier on Wednesday a progress report from PMS administrator Arthur Boyd and Co indicated two parties were interested in a buy-out.

Neither was named in the report. However, previously the Ulster Bank has been linked to a possible purchase.

A report on the conduct of the society's directors is understood to be close to completion.

It should be sent to the Department of Enterprise within the coming weeks.

Also on Wednesday, Arthur Boyd and Co revealed that the value of the society's property portfolio has slipped to £89m - 32% less than the original purchase price.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8105819.stm

[T Fearon]

This is good news for the Presbyterian Moderator no doubt, who spent all day yesterday singing

"A good Presbyterian heart these days is hard to find"

[Chrisowc]

I'm sure he'll be grateful to you for raising the profile of their plight all the same.

[slow corner back]

The ulster bank is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland which is bankrupt and has been nationalised, how can it be considering buying a dodgy debt laden instituition? Me thinks Gordon will say nice words talk about things and do very little, he is good at that

[Armaghtothebone]

No analogy here whatsover. The fact is that the state handed the children over to the church for care in the first place and had ultimate responsibility for the manner in which that care was administered. The state  must bear ultimate responsibility, and the church is also paying its fair share for the relatively few abusers within its ranks. In any event, neither the UK or 26 Government could adequately reward the Catholic Church for its work done in many spheres, education, health, social services etc , North and South of the Border.

My specific concern here relates to the fact that membership of this financial scheme was open only to Presbyterians and in particular the overt attempt by the Presbyterian Moderator to achieve preferential treatment by appealing to the Prime Minister of Great Britain on the basis of his own membership of the Presbyterian Church, which is outrageous and implies that these people are due  treatment on an unfair level by virtue of the fact that they simply share the same faith and church allegiance as the Prime Minister

Total tosh.
The "holy orders are 100% to blame"