***The Eighty-Five Billion Euro Man ***is a hard-hitting satire of Ireland's EU IMF bailout and the Eurozone crisis by former Irish Times London Correspondent Donal Conaty. It takes a scathing swipe at the people untouched by austerity Ireland. The politicians, the senior civil servants, the bankers and the trade union officials.
Walk into the Department of Finance in Dublin with €85 billion and you won't have it for long. Not when Dermot Mulhearn a career civil servant with a taste for the finer things in life is wondering where his next meal ticket is coming from.
As Ireland is rocked by the EU IMF bailout conditions and the austerity measures that follow it Dermot still has a twinkle in his eye. Why should he care about the Irish banking crisis? He's the man who pulls the strings on Ireland's puppet politicians. So what if Brian Cowen's government is all washed up? Dermot is more than a match for the incoming glimmer twins Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin. As for Enda Kenny? The new Taoiseach couldn't go a day without asking Dermot for advice.
So, as the economy continues to nosedive and the grim realities of austerity in bailout Ireland become apparent Dermot leads a charmed life. He accepts tributes from bankers as though he were Don Corleone in The Godfather and he steers the ship of State wherever he feels like going.
So what if Ireland defaults? Angela Merkel can deal with the consequences. Dermot has more pressing concerns like distributing Six Nations tickets to his buddies or sourcing nurofen plus and in-flight magazines for a bizarre wake in memory of Leslie Nielsen.
Stuck with trying to manage Ireland's bailout fund and prevent Dermot from blowing it on fast cars, wild parties and fake tans is an anonymous accountant with the IMF. This is his harrowing tale. It would be serious if it wasn't so funny.
**Praise for The Eighty-Five Billion Euro Man:**
"It's very good"** - Miriam O'Callaghan, RTÉ Prime Time presenter**
*"superb satire, even the true bits"**** *- Brian M Lucey, Professor of Finance, Trinity College Dublin **
**
### Review
"The politics are spot on - think Gene Kerrigan in malevolent mood. The economic commentary is David Mc Williams in party mode and the insight into our native court eunuchs who hold the real power in this pathetic excuse for a democracy is Fintan O'Toole at his best. Throw in a good dollop of Miriam Lord and Kevin Myers and you'll get a flavour of what's in store." **The Tuam Herald**
"What riper topic for scathing satire" **The Irish Times**
"This is a very curious book... A description of Brian Lenihan as "a fervent believer in whatever he happens to be saying, even if he's reading it for the first time," drew laughs from this reviewer and there are more perceptive jokes along the same lines." **The Irish Independent**
Description:
***The Eighty-Five Billion Euro Man ***is a hard-hitting satire of Ireland's EU IMF bailout and the Eurozone crisis by former Irish Times London Correspondent Donal Conaty. It takes a scathing swipe at the people untouched by austerity Ireland. The politicians, the senior civil servants, the bankers and the trade union officials.
Walk into the Department of Finance in Dublin with €85 billion and you won't have it for long. Not when Dermot Mulhearn a career civil servant with a taste for the finer things in life is wondering where his next meal ticket is coming from.
As Ireland is rocked by the EU IMF bailout conditions and the austerity measures that follow it Dermot still has a twinkle in his eye. Why should he care about the Irish banking crisis? He's the man who pulls the strings on Ireland's puppet politicians. So what if Brian Cowen's government is all washed up? Dermot is more than a match for the incoming glimmer twins Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin. As for Enda Kenny? The new Taoiseach couldn't go a day without asking Dermot for advice.
So, as the economy continues to nosedive and the grim realities of austerity in bailout Ireland become apparent Dermot leads a charmed life. He accepts tributes from bankers as though he were Don Corleone in The Godfather and he steers the ship of State wherever he feels like going.
So what if Ireland defaults? Angela Merkel can deal with the consequences. Dermot has more pressing concerns like distributing Six Nations tickets to his buddies or sourcing nurofen plus and in-flight magazines for a bizarre wake in memory of Leslie Nielsen.
Stuck with trying to manage Ireland's bailout fund and prevent Dermot from blowing it on fast cars, wild parties and fake tans is an anonymous accountant with the IMF. This is his harrowing tale. It would be serious if it wasn't so funny.
**Praise for The Eighty-Five Billion Euro Man:**
"It's very good"** - Miriam O'Callaghan, RTÉ Prime Time presenter**
*"superb satire, even the true bits"**** *- Brian M Lucey, Professor of Finance, Trinity College Dublin **
**
### Review
"The politics are spot on - think Gene Kerrigan in malevolent mood. The economic commentary is David Mc Williams in party mode and the insight into our native court eunuchs who hold the real power in this pathetic excuse for a democracy is Fintan O'Toole at his best. Throw in a good dollop of Miriam Lord and Kevin Myers and you'll get a flavour of what's in store."
**The Tuam Herald**
"What riper topic for scathing satire"
**The Irish Times**
"This is a very curious book... A description of Brian Lenihan as "a fervent believer in whatever he happens to be saying, even if he's reading it for the first time," drew laughs from this reviewer and there are more perceptive jokes along the same lines."
**The Irish Independent**