Sir, – John O’Hagan (Opinion, March 22nd) makes the following statements, “Every economic transaction with another person or outside agency involves interdependency. If you borrow from a bank or a friend you must meet the conditions of that borrowing, and the creditor takes the risk that you may renege on the loan, thereby creating for both parties interdependency”. Not necessarily so, as we in Ireland discovered to our dismay when we found that the foreign guaranteed bondholders, from whom our banks had borrowed multiple billion of euros, had in fact taken no risk.
When the Irish banks, which had irresponsibily borrowed these vast amounts were unable to pay their creditors, the Irish taxpayer was left with the task of repaying the loans so foolishly borrowed. – Yours, etc,
ALBERT COLLINS,
Bishopscourt Road, Cork.