Taxpayers paying a heavy price for banks’ debts

There is much debate about the facts and figures associated with Ireland’s receipt of liquidity funding from the Troika and the repayment commitments for both public borrowings and that which we have borrowed to repay private bank debts.

Most TDs, indeed most cabinet ministers, are on record to the effect that they are sick/galled to have to honour the repayments.

Unfortunately, they will follow. We are bound into this repayment schedule and unilateral action would be more damaging to Ireland than the path they are taking by making the payments.

So, they agree these payments are immoral, but we are being made pay (financial bombs, etc.)

Whatever one’s stance on what we should do from here is another question.

What really irritates me is that these TDs and ministers will continue to use phrases such as “colleagues”, “partners” and even “friends” in the EU/ECB/IMF.

That we are being coerced to being the butt of an immoral action is one thing, but for our leaders to use such terminology towards the aggressors leaves me bereft of any hope from the top.

I would expect the leaders of our nation to represent us, the citizensof the state, first and foremost, and negotiate our way out of this.

We don’t just have morality on our side (which doesn’t seem to count for much these days), we have a very strong hand in that Irish banks, that currently the Irish taxpayer props up, are an integral part of a “stable” European banking system.

Cian O’Meara

Kilworth

Co Cork