Sinn Féin defends bank guarantee vote

SINN Féin was put on the defensive at its manifesto launch for voting with the Government on the night the blanket bank guarantee in September 2008.

Its leader in the Dáil, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, was put under pressure by the Labour Party’s charge that it only began to protest against the guarantee when it was too late to reverse it.

Mr Ó Caoláin said on the eve of the guarantee a “calamitous situation” was being painted which would have hurt ordinary deposit holders.