Madam, - I am outraged and appalled that Ireland's "nouveau riche" big builders and speculators are now to be bailed out by the Irish taxpayer.
There I was thinking I was a mere spectator — sitting on the sidelines, so to speak. I believed that the speculators were reckless beyond belief; in league with their buddies in the banks, they were in way over their heads. I thought that many of them would come to regret playing fast and loose with their cash, in some cases paying hundreds of millions for a few acres of land. They and some of their banking friends would ultimately go down and pay the price for their greed.
But yesterday I woke up and realised that they had been spending my money all along. That it was I - the Irish taxpayer - who had unknowingly paid for all those inflated land banks. After all, the Government guarantee scheme and the inevitable bailouts that will now follow put me on the hook - retrospectively - for the whole shooting match.
After 24 hours of ill-thought-out and panic-riven legislation, the Irish taxpayer will now pay the price for generations to come. - Yours, etc,
JACK McDONNELL, Dall Riada, Portmarnock, Co Dublin.
Madam, - In recent days many letter-writers to your paper have expressed serious concerns about the Government's guarantee for six Irish financial institutions, now passed into law after a very stimulating late-night debate in the Oireachtas.
As one of the few Senators who voted against the Bill, I share these concerns at the lack of detail provided by the Minister for Finance as to the adequacy of protection for the enormous potential liability that taxpayers now face. The Minister has assured us all that this liability will never be called in, and I do hope he is right.
I fully appreciate the need to ensure continued confidence in the Irish economy; but ultimately I could not support a measure that I believe may amount to a bailout for Irish banks, and that may cost us all significant amounts, without providing sufficient penalties for those financial institutions responsible for the crisis.
I hope very much to be proved wrong about this. After all, most of those working in financial services are supporting the idea of a State guarantee for banks — but then they would, wouldn't they? - Yours, etc,
IVANA BACIK, Seanad Éireann, Dublin 2.
Madam, - While politicians, media and public all heap blame on the bankers, no one is pointing the finger at the Government which, for at least the past decade, has been responsible for furiously pump-priming construction. This continued apace despite the clear evidence that the economy had become increasingly over-reliant on this sector.
A plethora of grants and tax breaks fuelled the excesses as investors, which included many first-time buyers, sought to buy into guaranteed easy gains in a rising property market.
Now the bubble has burst, it's easy enough to spot the financial losers - recent investors, construction workers, banks, some developers, etc. But, other than developers, who were the big winners over the past decade? Could it have been the Government, representing the Irish public?
The billions of euro collected each year in construction-related VAT, stamp duty, capital gains tax, corporation tax, PAYE/PRSI, etc exceeded, by a large multiple, the annual profits made by the entire financial services industry from funding construction activity and mortgages.
I don't recall too many public protests when our personal tax rates were falling, subsidised by the sea of money flowing into Government coffers from the housing and construction boom. - Yours, etc,
PETER MOLLOY, Haddington Park, Glenageary, Co Dublin.
Madam, - It is wrong to place all the blame on the Irish banks for the current crisis. Certainly, the banks have been exceptionally imprudent, but the primary responsibility rests with the previous Minister of Finance.
Despite all the warning signs over the past three or four years, Brian Cowen made no attempt to reduce the economy's dependence of the economy on property and construction. Therefore, it was hardly surprising that, with low interest rates and generous tax incentives, property prices soared. The banks relaxed their lending criteria, and the property bubble expanded.
At this point the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator failed to rein in the banks.
An awful lot of senior people in the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and the Regulators' office must have been asleep on their watch. Now that we have the €400 billion guarantee in place, it is very important these same people do their job and ride shotgun on the banking sector to protect the interests of the long-suffering taxpayer.
It is vital that the recovery, which may take two to three years, is properly managed, and not hijacked by the lobbying power of some of the villains of this saga of incompetence and greed. - Yours, etc,
MIKE CORMACK, Ardagh Close, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Your Letters page has carried many complaints about the Government's guarantee of six Irish financial institutions.
I am not a supporter of the banks, but I would ask these readers whether they would prefer a collapse of the Irish banking system, with catastrophic consequences for the economy. It would most likely create a deeper and longer recession that we already face and this would cause untold misery for the weakest in our society.
We can be sure it would not be the bank executives who would suffer most in a deep recession.
The possibility of a collapse was quite real. It seems that at least one Irish bank was close to failure early this week and would have needed a bailout by the Government. This would have cost taxpayers millions immediately and would have further eroded confidence in Irish banks, possibly leading to more failures. Rather than reacting on a a case-by-case basis, the Government has acted to underpin the banking system.
As things stands, the Government has not had to pay out any money so far and it has made it less likely that an Irish bank will collapse. Indeed, it may even make some money from the banks in the form of a charge for the guarantee, which should be substantial given the security offered.
As part of the Government legislation we need to have better regulation and oversight of the banks and their activities; but given the potential doomsday scenario that faced us I applaud the Government's action - and I say this as one who is far from being a supporter of this administration. - Yours, etc,
JIM WALSH, Greencastle Road, Dublin 17.
Madam, - Now that the Government has provided such a large amount of money to the banks, can I now look forward to viewing the salaries of senior executives, directors and employees on the web? - Yours, etc,
SEAMUS CARBIN, Ballykillone, Co Donegal.
Madam, - Eoin Tonge's letter of congratulations to "the Minister, the Central Bank, the Financial Regulator, the banks and whoever else was involved" in the State guarantee to the banks could hardly be more servile and offensive (October 1st).
The suggestion that this is "not about capitalism" can only be the view of a mind hell-bent on making excuses. This collapse is most certainly about capitalism and it is also about government repeatedly abdicating its responsibilities by allowing greed to run rampant and by placing the people at the mercy of a small clique motivated only by money-making. To fail to understand that will expose us to the possibility of another such event in the future.
This mess is a spectacular failure of the capitalist system and the cure for that failure requires the Government must to rise above what appears to be a preoccupation with the interests of a chosen few and set out a policy programme that will ensure no such event could possibly occur again. They owe at least that to those who, without fuss, go about their lives compliant, seeking only a fair share. - Yours, etc,
JIM O'SULLIVAN, Rathedmond, Sligo.
Madam, - Next time I need an overdraft, should I approach my bank manager or my TD? - Yours, etc,
MIKE SCOTT, Foster Place North, Ballybough, Dublin 3.