Opposition question €7bn rescue bid

THE debate on the rescue of Irish financial institutions has moved to the fate of good banks, bad banks and ugly assets.

Before the impending injection of €7 billion into Bank of Ireland and AIB, the main opposition parties have asked Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to consider if he is throwing public money into a bottomless pit.

Both have suggested that before any cash is invested the cancer represented by bad debts has to be removed from the system — with individual investors, rather than taxpayers, absorbing the loss.