The overriding truth of this entire campaign was the upside of voting Yes was relatively modest to the disastrous impact of a No vote. The prospects of investor confidence collapsing would have incurred lasting long-term damage. There was no Plan C in the event of failure

Brian Lenihan seems to be the only senior Government politician who attempts to give effective leadership. FF’s minor upward blip in the polls is due to his assertive confidence ... He can chart a course for future positive direction for the nation, based on realism and straight speaking

HIGH Court judges Peter Kelly and Frank Clarke found the business plans of Liam Carroll’s Zoe group to be artificial and fanciful. I fear the NAMA plan would equally fail their scrutiny. This does not mean NAMA isn’t a viable solution.

The state guarantee on Irish bank deposits, nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank and NAMA would all have been impossible without the ECB’s €100bn.

Each passing week we add €400m to the national debt to keep the show on the road. We’ll be lucky if the fiscal outcome for 2009 is limited to an appalling gaping deficit of €20bn. Political decisions alone are responsible for this madness. We can’t blame Lehman Bros, subprime lending or the credit crunch

Politicians deeply abhor and detest general elections. All recoil at the personal horror of their own uncertainty. TDs are always in a constant state of denial about the prospects of a pending contest. The profound level of private insecurity has to be felt to be believed.

If you stay around long enough in the one position in politics, you will accumulate a lot of enemies. Harney has not lacked for courage or shirked conflict. Like all warriors, eventually the scars of battle take their toll. Too many health commentators, professionals and leaders want rid of her

Apparently, we are going to start with a current market value and then add on an expectant premium to reflect future prospects. That may sound plausible, but it’s fiction. Nobody knows what future property prices will be, when they might recover and to what extent

Rumours are rampant that our largest developers are transferring properties to spouses and relatives to circumvent “personal guarantees” being invoked to seize their lucrative personal assets

COLM McCARTHY is a wily old fox. From past involvement in the late 1980s, he learned the mechanics of Government finances. Every year an annual ritual commences in early summer. Each line department submits its proposed budgetary outline for the following year. A series of bilateral meetings then takes place with dedicated officials in the Department of Finance. This arm wrestle usually involves incremental adjustment for inflation and the occasional initiative.