Madam, – Finally, the truth is out and it is told to us not by our Taoiseach or one of his ministers but by the governor of the Central Bank, Prof Patrick Honohan.
Our Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, Brian Lenihan, Dermot Ahern and others have gone about for the past two weeks denying what every dog in the street knew was happening – that negotiations were ongoing for loans from the IMF and ECB and that we were preparing to accept them. It was left to a civil servant to deliver the blow.
There is no question whatsoever now about where the blame lies for all of this; our problems were created in our own country by Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and the Independents who support the policies of this Government for narrow self-interest reasons and who keep Fianna Fáil and the Greens in power. The Independents are keen to avoid any blame, and in their own constituencies they may escape criticism. However, history will not be kind to a group of people, elected to our national parliament but with an agenda that is as self-serving as it is local.
Today I am angry – I am certain in common with many thousands of others across the land – at what this Government has done to this proud country.
I am angry to see we will very soon be beholden to the IMF and the ECB, after this Government has demonstrated to the world that it is no longer capable of managing our own finances.
If there remained any vestige of integrity in our Government (I won’t hold my breath), then Brian Cowen would go to President McAleese now and ask her to call a general election. The members of this Government – Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and Independents – would then follow this by telling the nation they accept the blame, apologise for what they have done and that they will resign from public life, not putting themselves forward for election again. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Editorial (“Was it for this?”, November 18th) is disingenuous in the extreme. Wrapping the Republic in de Valera’s Tricolour and evoking the dizzy emotions of hope, self-determination and feelings of sovereign adulthood that were in evidence in 1998, does the country no favours.
We have gleefully accepted overseas financial aid for a long time. Staggering sums of money from the European system in the guise of the Common Agricultural Policy and the European Structural Funds reshaped the agri-food sector and the transport and communications networks. Working our magic we ensured, bolstered by an artificially low corporate tax rate, that foreign direct investment poured trillions into our economy over the years and employed hundreds of thousands of our college graduates.
We rode the pig's back and, with joyful abandon, well and truly buried our snouts as deep into the trough as we possibly could. Why, now then, do we turn our noses up at our German and British neighbours when they come to our aid after a 15-year-long orgy of spending, that we wholeheartedly embraced? This despite the lone voices that said sooner or later it was all going to go pear-shaped? How does The Irish Timeseditorial team reconcile the struggle for national independence with the lecherous hedonism that we have indulged in for the last 15 years? The logical conclusion of this article is that the founding fathers of modern Ireland would have approved of our behaviour over the recent years. I beg to differ, I think they would have been ashamed. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – May I congratulate you on an eloquent and succinct précis of the ignominy of our situation (Editorial, November 18th). It makes for grim reading. As a member of the Irish diaspora, there is some relief that I and my family do not have to suffer the direct consequences of Fianna Fáil, but this is overshadowed by both sadness and rage: the piece was a bleak reminder that the opportunity to bring my young family home may now never arrive. Of course, my heart goes out to those that will bear the burden of the impending cutbacks but for us and thousands of others, exile seems likely to be the sentence imposed by the buffoonery and mendacity of our current Government. Shame on them. – Is mise,
Madam, – Was it for this? Yes, in my opinion! A critical reading of the political history of Ireland since 1916 would, I believe, go a good way to supporting this conclusion. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Was it for a credit line of a load of billion euros that Connolly was executed? Probably not. But he hardly died for the Magdalene laundries either. Did Plunkett die in the name of clerical child sex abuse? Did Pearse die so that poor Irish people would have mortality rates two to three times those of their rich counterparts? Did Clarke die for a Dublin that now extends as far as Mullingar and Cavan and is dependent above all on cheap imported oil? Did MacDermott die for a politics based on clientelism?
Did Ceannt die for a property boom?
Thursday, November 18th, 2010 marks the total failure of an elite, but it wasn’t a particularly talented one. Ireland can do much better. – Is mise,
CATHAL RABBITTE,
Im Walder,
Zollikon,
Switzerland.
Madam, – Reading the Editorial (November 18th), “Was it for this?”, the line taken from Yeats’ poem about those who held Ireland in such esteem that they risked everything for it, as opposed to the mentality of the Irish money-men, I was reminded of what has happened to the Tara landscape in the last years. The symbolic significance of Tara has always been at the heart of Irish identity; the harp, the shamrock, the High Kings, St Patrick, even the name for Ireland itself is taken from a Goddess of Tara, Ériu. To have parcelled the royal demesne of Tara out, sold it off and cemented over it, shows the brutal reality that for the money-men everything was for sale, nothing was sacred. Ireland itself became just a commodity.
The spirit of those who fought for Irish independence has been invoked a number of times in the media in the last week and in the Dáil, not to call Irish people out to arms, but implicitly to remind them that Ireland was once held in such high value by many Irish people, those who “weighed so lightly what they gave”. It is ultimately a question of value.
No matter what happens in the negotiations with Europe and the IMF, whether there is a bailout or not, perhaps having sold so much of what Ireland is, a sense of value is returning of what it means to be Irish, our culture, a certain decency. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The breathtakingly unionist hypocrisy of your "Was it for this?" Editorial is only comprehensible when it is viewed as just another attack on a branch of nationalism, namely Fianna Fáil. The Irish Timesmay be recorded as the bellows whose property supplement fanned the flames that heated Ireland's property bubble and national greed to unprecedented levels and whose property articles trumpeted buyers into auction hysteria whose ridiculous prices were lauded in your columns, not least in your property advertising revenues. Having cast the first stone, let your particular glass house now take its rightful place in the firing line alongside Fianna Fáil. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Your Editorial (November 18th) is senseless; it demeans the presumed quality of the newspaper. It is tawdry emotion to evoke the “men of 1916”, the memory of Éamon de Valera along with the cries of lost self- determination. All that remains is to call upon the Virgin Mary to save us.
Really, what is the problem? We have to borrow more money to maintain the solvency of the banks. Where is the loss of sovereignty in that? Our budget and our four-year plan contain all that is required to maintain the sovereignty of the State. We won’t lose the 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate.
If you want to castigate the culprits of our miserable financial situation write about the greed and sometimes criminality of the property dealers, the directors and executives of the banks and insurance companies and you might consider questioning the quality of members of the Dáil and Seanad who let the demands of financial regulation pass them by.
Stop the wailing. The sovereignty of Ireland remains with the People of Ireland; they will not let it go. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Please print the Editorial from your newspaper from the day after the Easter Rising 1916.
And your true colours are shown by the second Editorial on November 18th, on the subject of the “royal wedding”. Pathetic. – Is mise,
ALAN LOUGHNANE,
John’s Court,
Birr, Co Offaly.
Madam, – Your Editorial is the most hypocritical yet. Your paper, which still retains remnants of a unionist and Progressive Democrat culture, was appalled by the 1916 Rising and demanded punishment for the perpetrators.
Your publication is still mainly a broadsheet for the areas covering the old “Pale” and is still out of touch with the soul of our nation, even though some of your columnists have holiday homes in the countryside.
How this Government and its various Coalition partners have managed our State borders on criminal incompetence and the voters will ensure their destruction, but for The Irish Timesto be regarded as impartial? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In six years we will have the centenary of the 1916 Rising. How ironic it is then that the sovereignty of our nation will have been lost on Fianna Fáil’s watch. Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party. Every single member of this disgraced party should hang their heads in shame. From Haughey through Ahern and now to Cowen, they have destroyed the Republic, which men and women gave their lives for.
They will argue that we gave up our sovereignty when we joined Europe in the early 1970s. This may be true to a point, but we were still run by an Irish government, elected by the Irish people and ran our own affairs. Not any more. The rumblings that can be heard around the country are not just those of discontent, but the sound of Pearse, Connolly and MacDiarmada turning in their graves. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I suspect the leaders of 1916 would be delighted at Ireland’s success in obtaining a bailout from Germany, something Roger Casement had previously failed to secure for them. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Reading the various articles and commentary in your newspaper today concerning the financial situation, I am dismayed by the prevailing tone of fanciful regret for the surrendering of our sovereignty. The mawkish tone of much of the copy regarding the struggle for independence, what the men of 1916 died for, our national identity, Éamon de Valera, etc, leaves me questioning my recent conclusions that, for all of the pain and distress it has caused, the economic meltdown had at least brought on a much-needed awakening towards reality for the country.
Can any realistic assessment of the enormous self-deception that was the “Celtic Tiger” period, consider that Ireland has enjoyed any true sovereignty over the past 20 years; or even before that, given, for example, the Vatican’s meddling in our affairs from the outset? What degree of self-determination did we employ when the sharks from international financial institutions first began exploiting government complacency, and the charade of Irish banking regulation, to prey upon the avarice of the local minnows? Did the broad national enthusiasm to engage in wanton consumerism represent a proud link to our national heritage and culture, or an adolescent hunger to reject our past and become different?
What is needed now is surely not a maudlin remorse for some nebulous idea of what we are or have been, but rather a mature contemplation of what we can become. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – IMF. OMG! IRE RIP? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I read with incredulity Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe’s comments regarding the negotiations of an entirely inevitable bailout (Front page, November 18th). He was looking to “play poker” and “see the colour of their money”. Is this just another attestation of just how deluded and removed from reality our Cabinet is? Surely they know we have no hand to play. The ECB/IMF hold all the aces – and all the money!
Unfortunately I believe it is much more contemptible than that and this is just a surreptitious attempt at blaming outside forces for all the woes that are about to come down the track for the Irish taxpayer. Stop making excuses! Our Government has single-handedly ruined this country. Not only has it mishandled the economy for years, it has also mishandled this crisis and compounded our problems so that literally generations to come will suffer. That’s the bottom line and that’s what the record will show.
If, finally, it could just do the honourable thing, stop making excuses and just go and let us begin to rebuild this country, it would have done us at least one service. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Could any of your readers explain the Government’s and particularly Fianna Fáil’s aversion to the concept of telling the truth? The Minister in charge of obfuscation, aka the Taoiseach, leads this pack while other Ministers come hard on his heels.Wednesday’s paper has a vivid illustration. In referring to the upcoming assistance from Europe, Batt O’Keeffe says he is absolutely unaware of any moves from Europe. Dermot Ahern says it’s “fiction”. Mary Hanafin adds “there is no question of it”.
We have been lied to right through the life of this administration and unfortunately we bought the lies.They had the gall to lecture us about patriotism. History will judge who the real patriots are. I believe not many of this sorry lot will get an honourable mention. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Would you like a cup of tea, Father Brian? No. I won’t, thank you, Mrs ECB. Are you sure now? No, really, Mrs ECB. Ah you will now, Father. No. Honestly I have enough tea to last me until bedtime. Ah, go on. Go on. Go on. No, Mrs ECB I absolutely do not want a cup of tea. Will ye not be thirsty in the night? No, Mrs ECB. I really, really don’t want any tea. Well,
why don’t I leave a cup here just in case? Oh, Mrs ECB. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It’s nice to see our Minister for Finance has not lost his sense of humour during these difficult times, suggesting on Wednesday that Irish banks have “no funding difficulties”. The facts would suggest otherwise! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As the IMF has arrived here, but not for a bailout, shouldn’t someone in the Government
be kind enough to tell them that the fly-fishing season does not start in November? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – On the bright side, we won’t need IMF funds to try Cowen’s junta for refusing our democratic right to elections, not being responsible to the Dáil, ignoring the will of the people, and so on. Well-managed show trials could be self-funding. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As the country prepares to go down the pan, what a clever choice of words from the Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe, describing the situation as being akin to a poker game. Can I respectfully suggest that Mr O’Keeffe (and his gambling cronies) are dealt a royal flush from the electorate as soon as possible? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The German chancellor recently said that the taxpayer should not pick up the tab for reckless bankers. Did she mean German taxpayers or Irish taxpayers? In a union of equals she must have meant European taxpayers. On this advice, I think she is perfectly right. Why should the European taxpayer pay for reckless bankers? I think we should take Angela Merkel’s advice. And tell Olli Rehn, thanks for the offer of a blank cheque, but we will pass this time. If he wants to give it to the reckless banks, then they will owe the money, not us, the European working-class taxpayers. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Did you hear the IMF was going to pick the team for the All Blacks but Brian Cowen denied there was a match? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Our nation has been economically mismanaged by various governments at various times since the foundation of our State.
I submit that if the best economists in our country, people such as David McWilliams and Morgan Kelly, had been listened to, we would not have arrived at our current state of economic abyss.
Yes, our economy has to be saved, but not by people who have demonstrated little or no competence.
While it is not a very palatable pill to have to swallow, perhaps the intervention of the European Central Bank, along with the intervention of the IMF, may lead to the necessary and radical overhaul of our approach to the management of our economy.
We cannot afford to continually repeat the economic mistakes of the past with monotonous regularity.
Therefore, I suggest that our Government appoints the best of Irish economic advisers, and recruits economists with proven ability from countries such as Canada and Australia, both of which, through prudence and the intelligent application of macro-economic policies, have weathered the global economic meltdown. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It was with unfettered joy and songs of praise in my heart that I learned of the impending rescue of the Irish economy by our dear friends in the EU and the IMF. I listened with tears in my eyes as the British chancellor of the exchequer vowed that he would not abandon his Irish neighbours. At last, we can ditch the buffoons and gombeens that have run a personal fiefdom in this benighted Republic for so many years and sleep quietly in our beds, safe in the knowledge that professional governance will cast its benign shadow over us, for the next few years at least. This is truly a great day for Ireland! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It’s crunch time. Mr Fingleton should give us back the €1 million bonus without further ado. We really need it at this stage. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – My father, who was born in Roscommon in 1920 and died in 2007, left school at 14 to run the family business, spending all his life in that area. A man who read avidly about Irish politics and business, he constantly reiterated to anyone that would listen that Fianna Fáil and the Irish banks were chronically ruining the country. He would not be surprised at the extent of the damage today, as we prepare to bail-out a dysfunctional banking system and continue to support a feudal style of government. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Should we, any time now, expect from our Minister for Finance, a considered response which begins: “On mature reflection . . .”? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The debate rages on. Is it a bailout? Is it a loan? Let’s call it a “bloanout” . . . which is hopefully what will happen to the Government at the next election. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The IMF and various European banks are no longer knocking on our door, but are sitting at our table. We soon will have no sovereign control of our fiscal and financial policy. To paraphrase the old ballad: “Ireland once a nation is a province once again”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Finally we have a practical use for the Dublin Spire. It is the tallest flagpole in the country and is located on our capital city’s main street, the appropriate place to fly the white flag of surrender to the rest of the world. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The re-release of Soundings is timely. When considering the disaster that is Fianna Fáil, I couldn't help but recall the last few lines of Shelley's Ozymandias, "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away".
Shelley might well have had Fianna Fáil in mind when he wrote it. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I see George Osborne will help out if required. May I suggest a new slogan for this latest national calamity – “Brits in – bail out”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is fool’s folly for the Irish Government to say it does not need a bailout because it is funded until mid-2011. What’s going to be different eight months from now? Ireland won’t be able to raise money in the bond market and will again have to go hat-in-hand to the EU and the IMF. It should deal with the inevitable now and move on. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is encouraging to note Mary Hanafin is “very concerned about media stories which have no foundation”, Batt O’Keeffe is “totally unaware” and to Dermot Ahern says it is “fiction”. Obviously, Madam, there will be no bailout. The three monkeys come to mind. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – If what we need is an influx of cash, perhaps the State should offer Farmleigh as a venue for the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Priced in sterling, of course. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Apparently there is deep despondency in the country at the coming loss of our (economic) sovereignty. However, as a younger person who watched the older generation wreck the country, I can honestly say that I am relieved by the arrival of competent people from Brussels and Berlin to fix the mess. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – One small benefit of the recent crisis has been the apparent reduction in the irritating use of the first person possessive adjective in reference to the Government by serving Ministers. The use of which added as much to their deluded notions of self-importance as did the parading around in their ministerial cars. Is this a small sign of the loosening of the reins or a recognition, albeit a late one, that the correct use would be the first person plural of the above or indeed that it may well be in the third person plural very soon. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The main resistance to the IMF is from the TDs and civil servants because they will have to give up the secure jobs and inflated pay/expense/pension cushions they are sitting on. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – With regards to the IMF investigations into the Irish bank losses, I understand that the Government is only helping with inquiries, after which a file will be prepared. In anticipation . . . – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Is it too early to start thinking about the post-IMF Second Republic? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As the Irish Republic is about to lose its economic sovereignty, here’s a last gasp proposal in an attempt to save the State from further humiliation. Rather than ask the EU, IMF and indeed Britain for a bailout or loan – call it what you will – why not ask the hundreds of thousands of Irish expats in gainful employment across the globe to donate a percentage of their annual net income to help “shore up” the beleaguered economy. It would be a tangible gesture from Ireland’s estranged sons and daughters to show the world that we’re willing and able to get ourselves out of this mess. I know many of my compatriots will baulk at the mere suggestion of this – bailing out the incompetents that got our nation into this mess.
But if you can put your anger aside for the moment and lend a financial hand, in the near future we can have a meaningful and powerful influence in shaping the direction of a revitalised republic. Time, however, is not on our side. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I would like to make a modern proposal in the context of Ireland’s modern dilemma.
I appeal to any individuals, businesses or other organisations in this country who feel that we desperately need a general election to make that view known by publishing it in the format: “(Insert name here) wants a general election”. And I use the word “publish” in the broadest sense. People should make a poster and pin it up in their shop window, on their office door, on a streetlamp, on a student noticeboard, or on the gates of the Dáil itself.
But they shouldn’t stop there. They should publish it in a letter to their local TD, publish it as their Facebook status, publish it on their blog, in a mailshot, or on Twitter. I appeal to the many public figures who now hold this view to support the campaign by doing the same.
We need to make our voices heard, and we need to do it in a very modern way. I myself am just an Irish citizen of no importance, so all I can hope to do is to get the ball rolling: Deirdre Hosford wants a general election. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – There has been some comment recently about Ireland failing to manage its affairs 90 years after winning independence. I don’t accept this navel-gazing. There are many intelligent and capable Irish at home and abroad who have different ideas about how Ireland should be led and governed. However, the voices of change are drowned out by vested interests and/or go unsupported by the silent majority.
Perhaps 40 per cent of the electorate are too embarrassed at their voting record since 1997 to take to the streets? In any case, nothing short of a revolution will shift the cosy cartel, insiders and elite. However, if we want to achieve fundamental reform we need to get up off our backsides and do something.
A revolution requires new leaders to take that first step; crucially, the public to follow. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – What is the collective name given to a group of ostriches? A Cabinet. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Let me get this straight. Even though officials from the European Rescue Fund and the IMF have landed, Ireland does not need or want a bailout from them. This is presumably because the country has not, in fact, been beggared by the Galway tent unholy trinity of Fianna Fáil, bankers and property developers.
However, if the European lads ask us really nicely to help save the euro for them, we might accede to letting them give us a few bob, but only as a dig-out to them.
This sort of carry-on could only get more stage-Irish if Brian Lenihan showed up at the next EU Council of Ministers meeting with a pig under his arm. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Both the EU and the Irish Government are equally responsible for the current crisis. The EU bungled the introduction of the euro.
Interest rates fell most in those countries with the weakest currencies, resulting in a credit explosion in those countries (Ireland, Portugal, Spain, etc). This led to unsustainable growth and bad lending practices. In the case of Ireland and Spain, interest rates dropped at a time when they should have increased, to ensure a soft landing from the growth rates of the period 1997–2001. In Ireland, interest rates fell from approximately 5.9 per cent to approximately 3 per cent in the three-year period up to January 1st, 2002.
The Irish government should have held off joining the euro, or introduced policies to limit bank lending in the period after joining the euro.
What we are seeing now throughout the euro area is the disastrous consequences of the bungled introduction of the euro. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As the finger-pointing continues, one simple fact appears to have been overlooked in the analysis of our current financial difficulties: Ireland was unlucky.
In September 2008, when the Irish Government guaranteed the Irish banks’ debt, this was seen as the only defensible strategy to avoid an imminent collapse of the Irish banking system. The decision was taken after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the financial mayhem that ensured. To try again where America had tried and failed would have been ill-advised and reckless. The prevailing wisdom at the time, and still today in many quarters, was that transferring private-sector debt to the public sector was the best strategy and that ultimately the sovereign would be able to bear this additional strain.
Ireland’s decision at the time was hailed as being courageous and proactive; had the hole in the banking sector been smaller, it might have worked. Nonetheless, and with hindsight, this was the wrong decision. This decision has resulted in not only the banking system having a solvency crisis, but the sovereign also. The correct decision – with the benefit of hindsight – would have been to have creditors participate in the bank recapitalisation and hence avoid the current sovereign crisis, made all the more galling by the fact that our debt/GDP levels prior to this recapitalisation were the envy of Europe.
The touted EU/IMF bailout – unless it bails-in the private creditors of Irish banks – will unfortunately not solve either of the problems it is meant to deal with, namely stabilise Ireland and avoid contagion within the euro zone. It won’t stabilise Ireland because Ireland has lost market confidence due to a perception of an unsustainable debt mountain. Adding more debt (which will be funnelled to the banks) cannot and will not alleviate the situation in the long term. Equally, it will not stop contagion, just as bailing out Greece did not stop contagion spreading to Ireland. However, the perspective from the core is that it is worth a try and Ireland is easy enough to bully into it.
This is one of the unfortunate truths for Ireland. After our epic 800-year struggle with England, after gaining independence 90 years ago, and after enthusiastically throwing in our lot with Germany and the rest of the euro zone, we realise that this was a one-sided love affair. Ironically, the European partner which looks to stand by us with a £7 billion loan without condescension, references to the past or unhelpful advice as to how to run our economy (ie set corporate tax rates) is none other than our nearest neighbour: Britain. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Michael Griffin poses the question (November 18th) “Am I the only one who thinks the two Brians are playing a blinder at present, despite previous blunders”. No, he is not alone – I am sure the two Brians agree with him 100 per cent. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Irish Timesmust end its traditional bias in favour of the Green Party. How can you reconcile your editorial lament for the loss of Irish sovereignty (November 18th) with the statement by Minister for Communications Éamon Ryan TD that he doesn't have a problem with the fact that "the Government 'may need help' from Europe"? (Breaking News, November 18th) Mr Ryan should have a read your Editorial first, to even begin to gauge a fraction of the damage he and his spineless, vacuous and downright amateur outfit have inflicted on this former, now fatally failed, State.
Stephen Collins couldn’t have been more lucid and hard-hitting in his analysis (Opinion, November 18th), but he missed the bull’s-eye. Yes, Fianna Fáil is to blame, but the Green Party is too. The Constitution has been continuously undermined by the Green Party, which actively voted in favour of Nama and the bank guarantee. By staying in Government they deprived the Irish people of their constitutional right to vote on the matters themselves, in a referendum or general election, which they were crying out for.
The proposed contract to be made with the IMF/EU is invalid, under the Constitution. I don't believe the nation or the people ever vested, or intended to vest, the power to dissolve the State, and hand over sovereignty. It is simply ultra vires,or beyond the constitutional powers of the Government. Such power would be akin to it having been given the power to completely strip us of our civil and political rights – indeed our human rights; to be citizens and to be full human beings, with the right of self-determination.
In essence, the Government is attempting to make us slaves; a lost race, which has, like many before, lost its footing on the land. The field is sold, and there seems to be no beating back “the prowler waves off the west coast”, save a case to the European Court of Human Rights. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The squandering of our sovereignty is an outrageous betrayal of national trust that has taken just eight years to accomplish. Brian Cowen and his Cabinet must think the electorate live in a fool’s paradise when they blathered to them that they were “not looking for a bailout” from the EU, ECB and the IMF, on the basis that the country is fully funded for the next six months. They have no choice in the matter. The financial pallbearers and embalmers have arrived and they are in an extraordinarily strong position to impose their will on profligate Ireland, its feckless leaders and their delusionary advisers.
Some 80 per cent of Ireland’s net national debt of close to €90 billion is borrowed from foreigners – an amazing feat in a country which boasts the eighth highest per capita GDP in the world, according to the IMF. A further €50 billion, at least, is needed next year, of which €33 billion is required to cover the spiralling and unascertainable bank losses that have spooked markets, tarnished our national reputation, and undermined the credibility of the Central Bank Commission within six weeks of its inauguration and that of the Department of Finance, which never seems capable of providing accurate projected data on anything.
All of this additional borrowing must come from foreign sources because indigenous resources have been squandered on welfare, subsidies, handouts, a dysfunctional national health service, unwanted hotels and ghost housing estates, giving rise to an exchequer deficit in the past decade of more than €52 billion.
Japan, in comparison, is second in indebtedness to Zimbabwe, with a national debt to GDP ratio of close to 200 per cent. But 95 per cent of Japanese sovereign bonds are owned by Japanese people, who, incidentally, also own 20 per cent of the US national debt.The integrity of Japanese sovereignty is intact, while Ireland faces the prospect of celebrating a centenary of nationhood a humiliated pauper, beggared and stripped of effective independence and afflicted with a leadership that is devoid of vision, pride, prudence foresight and discipline. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The ECB is not going to shoot itself in the foot by forcing Ireland to raise the 12.5 per cent corporation tax. It wants its money back and knows the only way that is going to happen is by allowing us to continue to attract foreign investment. And how do we do that? Keep our corporation tax the same, of course! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In regard to recent financial and political events, I’m afraid it’s a déjà vu, the Act Of Union of 1801 Act 2, in all but name and change of date.
Well done Fianna Fáil, The Republican Party. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Amid all the controversy and discussion on the loss of sovereignty associated with a possible bank bailout by the IMF/ECB, it seems to have been forgotten that our next door neighbours (and much bigger economy) had a bailout by the IMF some 30 years ago.
Denis Healey (now Sir Denis) the then British chancellor, had to seek assistance from the IMF in November-December 1976. Britain survived the experience. As the refusal by the British to cede economic independence to the EU by not joining the euro zone shows, Britain is not exactly insensitive to matters of sovereignty. Yet it sought – and got – help from the IMF without the world ending.
If Britain survived the experience, why shouldn’t we? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Non, Je ne regretteRehn? That is the quandary for us. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The 1916 Proclamation proposed: “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible”. The founders of the Irish Republic have been finally betrayed by the Irish political and banking elite. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The ECB has already apparently pumped €120 billion into Irish banks. May one ask what exactly the banks have done with this money? Anglo Irish Bank during the past year has apparently lavishly refurbished its headquarters. Who recommended this totally unnecessary spend? More critically, who authorised such extravagance? Let’s hope one of the first stops the people from the ECB and the IMF make will be to the refurbished headquarters of Anglo Irish. I would love to see their reaction when they see the use to which ECB money is being put. It is small wonder that so many of those in authority are in denial. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Irish banks lent recklessly to both Irish developers and some Irish citizens during the Celtic Tiger era. These Irish banks borrowed hugely from large European banks (mostly German), which were in turn lending recklessly to them. The Irish government, in its innate wisdom, made the Irish taxpayer liable for these debts.
The Irish taxpayer does not have the capacity, nor any moral obligation, to repay the debts of private companies. The taxpayers of the big European economies (especially Germany) are now horrified that they will have to subsidise the Irish Government to subsidise Irish banks, which in turn will try to repay European banks.
It’s time to cut out the middleman. Let the citizens of the big European economies decide for themselves whether to pay for the mistakes of their own banks, or to let capitalism take its course and let the banks take the hit. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Fianna Fáil-led Government can count on the IMF, or whoever leads the inevitable bailout to implement change that it would dearly have loved to deliver itself.
The agenda for rolling back the state – originally championed by Thatcher, Reagan and other neo-liberal ideologues – has long been embraced by this Government (and by Fine Gael, lest they be let off the hook.) Measures imposed on us from the outside, with a shrug and a sigh from Messrs Cowen and Lenihan, do not disturb the political establishment here as much as they would have you believe.
What is happening in Ireland is the grasping of an opportunity to destroy the more progressive and humane facets of the modern state.
When Europe was officially bankrupt at the end of the second World War – a far bigger crisis than this – the opportunity was taken to invest in public institutions, to truly put people first. That process did not start with a figure that all development had to fall within. Rather it started with an assessment of what was needed to stabilise a traumatised population and improve the quality of life. The financing followed. Long- term financing, for sure. International financing, certainly. The difference being that the conditions imposed at that time were palatable to the greater number of people, because we were moving forward.
If there was a consensus at that time, it was one that helped lift millions out of poverty, provided quality education to all and ensured the enhancement of rights for workers. It was not all achieved and was still work in progress before reactionary forces got their act together in the late 1970s and began to shift power back into the hands of “market forces” and their chief beneficiaries, the wealthy.
That project, the death knell for the democratic state, is bound to be accelerated now and it could happen very quickly.
We need to be awake to all of this. There is much that will need to be defended. Neither this government, nor I fear, its successor, are up for the defence. – Is mise,
VINCENT WOOD,
Beach Avenue,
Salthill, Galway.
Madam, – What a pity we didn’t nationalise the banks when they were making obscene profits; if we had, we could have used those massive earnings to, er, bail-out the banks! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The IMF should be appointed to administer Ireland’s finances for three reasons: 1. It is the only competent body to impose the necessary changes to Ireland’s bloated public service. 2. The electorate will punish Fianna Fáil’s incompetence by confining it to the Opposition benches for a generation. 3. Any future administrations and so-called “competent bodies” will be forever reminded of the consequences of failure. – Yours, etc,
Madam, –
The last time I was in the Bank of England on Threadneedle Street, London, I came across a letter written by King Charles II to his bankers.
“I have always resolved to show myself an honest man in paying my debt, and it’s not my fault that
I cannot repay you with the same frankness you used in lending it, but having been so honestly dealt with by you I will pay it as well as possibly I can”, signed February 8th, 1676, King Charles 2nd to Ye Bankers.
If the king of England was having problems paying back his loans in 1676, then there is hope for the rest of us today. Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Irish soul has been hammered in recent days, but it is not with O’Leary in the grave. As our country stands in ruins, we must accept the international shame that has come our way and take the likes of the queen’s shilling to get us out of the hole we dug ourselves into. Every politician, banker and overpaid, over-opinionated contributor to this mess should hang their head in shame.
We are at a hinge-point in Irish history. Where do we go from here? We are a proud people with promise, optimism and ability stamped on our psyche. Let us start again. Use Roosevelt’s idea of a brain trust to sow the seeds of growth. There are 75 million people on this planet proud to be Irish; use them. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – May I suggest that An Taoiseach be referred to as Brian Canute? Like the famed king, he seems to share a similar aversion to water metaphors and a denial of the reality flooding around him. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As the electorate for Donegal South West gets ready to vote, I hope that they will provide leadership to us all through the paraphrased words of John F Kennedy: ask not what your TD can do for your constituency, rather ask what your TD can do for your country. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Now that the IMF people are in town, there is a clear need to sort out some basics before they start work. First, accommodation, at a minimum we should open up Farmleigh, light up the fires and get the caterers in, or alternatively provide one of the hotels that has been transferred to Nama, five star only.
Second has to be the question of transportation. There can be no question of anything less than a top of the range Merc with at least two drivers plus security, and of course an extra car to take their partners shopping, dining, or to the hairdressers.
Expense accounts are a given. These are needed to cover travel, living, and attendance at their place of work.
Of course, before they start the real work, we will need to be assured that they have been vetted and approved by O’Connor and Beggs, and in addition that they and all their staff are union members, that their pay and conditions are inflation-proof and exceed all such terms of their opposite numbers in the EU/World.
Finally, like ministers and public servants who have gone before them, they should be promised that, win or lose, they will be retired on large pensions or promoted to such posts as EU commissioner, following of course a pension top up and a large golden handshake prior to departure. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – I welcome your Editorial of November 18th, but you should have gone and completed it fully by calling on this Government to resign. – Is mise,
PAUL DORAN,
Monastery Walk,
Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
Madam, – It must be difficult for the IMF negotiators to quickly grasp an insight into the state of our public finances.
Here is a suggestion to help them out; let them ask to see the P60s of the people with whom they are negotiating. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Like most people in this land I am tired of listening to all the bickering, posturing, arrogant interviewing etc.
Fianna Fáil seems to be the demon, but I have yet to hear either a politician an expert or any commentator for that matter who makes sense (ie to me!). Words are easy, deeds are difficult. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Trust is vital for the survival of any relationship. Our current political leaders continue to be so dishonest that our trust has been betrayed and can never be regained. We cannot believe one word that comes from their mouths, yet our local and national broadcasters continue to ask for their opinions. Why? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Who exactly is the “we” referred to nine times in today’s editorial? I have never voted for Fianna Fail at national or local level and yet your implication is that I, along with every other citizen must bear responsibility for our current predicament.
As for the shame you exhort us to feel due to surrendering our sovereignty; may I assure you that I feel only rage and contempt for those politicians, policies, bankers and corrupt business practices that have brought us to this shocking predicament.
Furthermore, your suggestion regarding our collective obligation to bear responsibility for this debacle can only be deemed invidious. Every right-thinking person knows exactly who is responsible. The simple truth is that we are being called upon to bear the brunt of massive political mismanagement. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Why doesn’t Fianna Fáil forget about the bailout and their proverbial “dig-out” and simply clear out? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Our Government has not told us lies regarding an eventual bailout but it could be accused of employing “mental reservation” in misleading its citizens. And as the people now effectively own the banks, why pretend there is a fundamental difference between a State and bank bailout? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – To judge from the statements of Messrs Cowen and Lenihan, could it be that they are the only two people in the country who don’t know that an IMF bailout is now under way? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Recipe for disaster. 1. Commence with too-low interest rates and negligent financial regulation, to which should be added a large helping of bankers’ greed and procyclical economic policies. 2. Bring slowly to the boil. 3. As the mixture begins to froth add one part economically illiterate government and one part bank guarantee and leave to simmer for approximately two years. 4. After simmering, mix in generous helpings of incompetence, mismanagement and statements about bond market irrationality. Now sit back and wait. Soon your goose will be fully cooked. – Yours, etc,
CILLIAN BALFE,
Oliver Plunkett Villas,
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.