Bankers who broke law will be jailed, pledges Ahern

BANKERS who broke the law to feed their greed will wind up behind bars, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern pledged.

Clearly stung by opposition criticism that the Government wants to protect friends of Fianna Fáil who make up a “gilded elite”, Mr Ahern insisted that no one was above the law.

“No resources or effort will be spared to ensure that anyone who committed crimes and played fast and loose with this country’s financial reputation are pursued relentlessly — until they face the full rigours of the law.

“If this means some people used to dining in fancy restaurants end up doing porridge instead — then so be it.

“We have learned the bitter lesson that some financial institutions may have been prey not just to those with balaclavas and sawn-off shotguns.

“That late great American folk singer Woody Guthrie sang of how ‘some will rob you with a six gun, some with a fountain pen’. I suppose these days you could substitute a laptop for a fountain pen.

“But the unrelenting message of our criminal justice system has to be the same — no one is above the law,” he told the Ard Fheis.

The tough talking came on the heels of Transport Minister Noel Dempsey branding the 10 members of the secret “Golden Circle” who propped up Anglo Irish Bank’s share prices of being guilty of “economic treason”

The 10 business figures, whom the Government has refused to name, were lent €451 million by Anglo to buy shares in the institution which has left the taxpayer with an outstanding debt of €300m since nationalisation.

Mr Ahern attacked opposition leaders for expecting arrests to follow within hours of problems coming to light.

The minister also insisted the gardaí were making steady progress against organised crime and had considerable success seizing firearms and targeting gang culture.

Mr Ahern insisted he would press ahead with a ban on handguns.