Madam, - Enormous challenges face our country. The worldwide credit crunch, which was brought on by the highly irresponsible subprime lending in the United States, has led to a worldwide crisis in banking and a major economic downturn.
Ireland is particularly exposed because of the bursting of our property bubble, which had been supported by the Government and the banks.
The consequent bad debts will wipe out a substantial portion of the equity of Irish banks and severely damage the economy. The public finances are already in disarray and are still deteriorating. The public sector is too large. Cutbacks to date have been inadequate and often inappropriate. Loss of international competitiveness threatens to aggravate rising unemployment.
No Irish Government in the history of the State has before had to face such a huge reversal of the nation's fortunes. What is now clearly needed is a National Government combining the best talents of all political parties. There is no time to waste. - Yours, etc,