<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.1/39908?ns=guardian&pageName=Why+not+let+Ireland+bid+for+World+Cup%3F%3AArticle%3A1486922&ch=Business&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Ireland+%28News%29%2CBusiness%2CWorld+Cup+2018+%28Football%29&c5=Football+World+Cup%2CBusiness+Markets%2CNot+commercially+useful&c6=Lisa+O%27Carroll&c7=10-Nov-30&c8=1486922&c9=Article&c10=Blogpost&c11=Business&c13=&c25=Lisa+O%27Carroll%27s+Ireland+business+blog&c30=content&h2=GU%2FBusiness%2Fblog%2FIreland+business+blog+with+Lisa+O%27Carroll" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">England's hopes of hosting the World Cup are probably dashed <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/nov/29/panorama-fifa-world-cup-bribes">after last night's Panorama</a> – maybe the Irish could help out with a joint bid</p><p><br />There's still time. Only two days to the vote. And we meet many of the special criteria required. </p><p>Special tax exemptions required for foreigners – check. </p><p>An inner golden circle willing to take "special" benefits – check. </p><p>Surplus hotel capacity – check. Ireland has 60,000 hotel rooms – 7,000 of them surplus to requirements. </p><p>And finally, a world-class stadium – check. The magnificent, brand new Aviva stadium soaked up almost €200m (£167m) of taxpayers' money and is still half empty since opening this year. We also have Thomond and Croke park and we're less than an hour from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester and Cardiff, not to mention Wembley. </p><p>Oh. And the IMF mission chief, Ajai Chopra, described us as "plucky".</p><p>Yes, why not thank David Cameron for his €7bn hand out and join him in his, now hopeless, World Cup bid. The bonus is we'd get a slice of the estimated €5bn revenue England 2018 is reckoning on. Enough to keep the IMF wolves at bay for a few months.</p><p>Joking aside, the business of selling anything to the Irish remains tough. Today, we publish the second instalment of a weekly diary of a businessman who runs a retail chain. </p><p>His story is repeated up and down the country. Last week he had to lay staff off, cut wages and deal with one supplier, who had been in business for 30 years, begging him for cash.</p><h2>Diary of an Irish businessman</h2><p><strong>Monday 22 November</strong><br /> I can't believe [Irish prime minister Brian] Cowen is going to tough it out and not resign after bringing the country to its knees with the IMF bailout. Business out here just gets tougher. Today we decided we had to let two staff go. They had not been with us long – we had taken them on when business picked up in August, and now we have to give them one week's notice barely a month from Christmas. It's very hard on everyone. Those that we keep have to work harder as the amount of work needed to be done doesn't change. What really drove this was the stand-still in spending since the whole "bailout" fiasco began. Laughable to see the Green party withdraw from government – they can't even resign properly. But I'm delighted we finally get a chance for an election. It will be great to finally have a chance to stick it to these morons. The way the Greens pulled the plug would be funny if Ireland wasn't so screwed.</p><p><strong>Tuesday 23 November</strong><br />Staff meeting today. Had to put a 10% pay cut in place. It's the second time we've had to do this – the first was 15 months ago. Some of our staff had increases by promotion or extra hours in the last year, but that's all wiped out now for them. It's just so hard in this country – you take four steps forward and then six steps back. I had to deliver harsh news on one side over the pay and staff cuts and balance it with reassurance that the actions would keep the remaining people secure in their jobs. But we all know nobody can guarantee that. I then had a Dutch supplier on the phone haranguing me for paying him one day late. I explained that it was a genuine oversight and that we'd had a difficult two days with staff pay cuts and redundancies. He had no sympathy – all he said was "when's the next bill going to be paid?". I told him he should come and work for the Irish banks or, better still, our government. That's all people are talking about here. Everyone coming into the shops is talking about the banks and bailout. There's a real anger. People feel like they are being bullied into solving the banks' problems and being blamed for bringing down the euro. Christ, it's like people think we set out to do this.</p><p><strong>Wednesday 24 November</strong><br />Today was a bizarre day. The nation's media is on tenterhooks for <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/ireland-business-blog-with-lisa-ocarroll/2010/nov/29/ireland">the four-year plan</a>, but out in the shops people seem oblivious. We were busy in most of our shops, had an OK day's sales and staff getting stuck in with some sort of war-like resolve. It's upsetting to see how the fear impacts on people day to day. The news on radio and TV is draining. Is our good day about people ignoring the bad news and getting on or what? Buggered if I know. I'm just glad of a good day's sales.</p><p><strong>Thursday 25 November</strong><br />Again, an OK day but the cold weather never helps. I finally made progress with one of my landlord's agents – they never meet you themselves – when he finally agreed to meet me and discuss a rent reduction. Now he wants three years' accounts and figures coming out my ass. What kind of country is this? Two years ago you would have got a mortgage with less. Luckily I'm prepared.</p><p><strong>Friday 26 November</strong><br />OK day, people seem to be over the trauma of earlier this week. That or they just can't take any more negativity. A supplier who sent me Christmas product on agreement that I would pay at the end of Christmas week rang begging me for part-payment to shore up his cash. Gave him what I could but it's scary times. He's 30 years on the go but I'm wondering will he be here in 2011. There's a lot of that pressure about. Hell of a time to pull a crap load of money from an economy, bail out bondholders and expect growth.</p><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/ireland-business-blog-with-lisa-ocarroll/2010/nov/22/diary-of-an-irish-businessman">Diary of an Irish business: Week One</a></p><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/29/anlgo-irish-bank-closure-speeded-up">No more black holes in Irish banks says governor</a></p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ireland">Ireland</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/world-cup-2018">World Cup 2018</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/lisaocarroll">Lisa O'Carroll</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
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