The problem with Ireland’s banking system: banks are simply not lending

Welcome to this week’s IT Sunday, a selection of the best Irish Times journalism for our subscribers.

“How many simultaneous crises does an organisation have to create before it needs to be changed? If we’re talking about the HSE, the joke is that there is no answer to the riddle,” so begins Fintan O’Toole’s weekend column, which identifies five things currently going on at the Health Service Executive. The first, he writes, has to do with long waiting lists: “First, there are now 600,000 patients waiting for an outpatient hospital consultation, with some 137,000 of them on the list for more than 12 months. The figures include 100,000 children. These citizens are not waiting for treatment – they are waiting to be assessed. Which is to say waiting to be recognised as real human beings with real human needs.”

David McWilliams is examining Ireland’s banking system and the effects of a central problem: banks are simply not lending. As a result, large parts of the economy are strapped for cash: “Did you ever ask yourself why those small builders, for example, who used to build a dozen houses here and there in your locality don’t seem to be around any more? They can’t get credit at reasonable rates – despite interest rates being so low. Credit is part of the reason. During a period when Irish interest rates were as low as they’ve ever been, Irish bank credit to small businesses has collapsed. Does that not strike you as strange?”

The latest chapter in the RTÉ controversy concluded this week with confirmation from director general, Kevin Bathurst, that there are currently no plans for Ryan Tubridy to return to his role with the national broadcaster. The news marked a conclusion to negotiations between RTÉ and Tubridy, with Mr Bakhurst saying “the door is not shut forever”.

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Writing in the wake of the analysis, Hugh Linehan asked whether or not Mr Bakhurst made the right call in showing the broadcaster’s star presenter the door: “If there had been a successful conclusion to the talks then the presenter’s reduced pay might have been enough to quell dissent. But the decision to end the process so abruptly sends a clearer, tougher message to the public, the staff and the politicians who will decide RTÉ's future.”

Fintan O’Toole, meanwhile, says the only thing Tubridy seemed sorry for was himself: “For Ryan Tubridy, sorry was not the hardest word. He used expressions of regret for his part in the RTÉ debacle fluently enough. It was just the meaning behind the words that he seemed to find difficult.”

Over in sport, you can find full coverage of today’s Women’s World Cup soccer final here and catch up with Karen Duggan’s pregame assessment of Spain and England’s chances. Elsewhere, Ireland overcame England in a flawed but convincing win in advance of the Rugby World Cup. More on that here.

Trish Murphy, in her latest advice column, responds to a reader whose son has expressed some right-wing views that have caused his parents some concern. “We do everything we possibly can to raise our children to be as rounded as they can possibly be. We are also hopeful that they will be free thinkers. But I do not know if we can tolerate this mindset and the risk that it poses to our other children.”

In the most recent reader query sent to Roe McDermott, a woman is struggling with the effects of Covid lockdown on her relationship. She and her husband got married just before the pandemic, which then ruined the plans they had together. Now, she says, something has shifted: “I’m in my 30s and feeling under pressure to have a baby. I do want children but I feel like I missed out on all these big plans I had, not just for us as a couple, but for me as a person. I hate the pressure of it but also know that having children later might be more difficult. My husband has started some conversations about what we want the next couple of years to look like and I just shut down. Part of this is that I just don’t feel attracted to him any more.”

In this week’s On the Money newsletter, you’ll find advice for avoiding scammers and staying safe. While many scams are barely credible, people are deceived every single day and the “blight” – as it has been described by ComReg – costs Irish consumers and businesses hundreds of millions of euro each year. Sign up here to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox every Friday.

As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews and tips for the best restaurants in our food section.

There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.

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