Cowen refuses to say sorry

SORRY is still the hardest word for Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who refused to apologise to taxpayers for pouring billions of euros of their money into failing banks on Bailout Tuesday.

Just before details of the historic bail-out were revealed to the Dáil, the Opposition demanded the Taoiseach take responsibility and “say sorry to the Irish people” for getting them into this mess.

But Mr Cowen said the banking crisis was not unique to Ireland and that “the total motivation for the Government at all times was to ensure a viable banking system that was fit for purpose” to rescue the economy and save jobs.

He said the policies of the Labour Party, which did not support the bank guarantee in 2008, would have been “catastrophic” and would lead to “the collapse of this economy”.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said “instead of coming in here having a whack at the Opposition” and “tapping the Government on the back”, Mr Cowen should take responsibility. “I think it’s time that you came in here and that you accepted responsibility for what has happened to the banking system. What has happened as a consequence to the economy is your responsibility,” he told Mr Cowen during Leaders’ Questions. Ireland suffered the “double whammy” of the international crisis and bad Government policies, according to Mr Gilmore, who told the Taoiseach: “You are the second whammy.” He said the Irish economy “is uniquely in the crisis that it is in because of the policies your Government pursued, hand in glove with property developers, hand in glove with bankers”.

On top of huge mortgages, this has left Irish people with “a massive big bill today for €40 billion that they are going to have to pay in their taxes”.

“And it’s time you took responsibility for it, acknowledged responsibility for it and said sorry to the people of Ireland for it.”

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the Taoiseach was “strangling the next generation” and “tying the hands of future governments”. He said: “You are forcing the Irish taxpayer to have a level imposed that will cost every family €20,000.”

Mr Cowen said Ireland “couldn’t be immune from the total meltdown of the international system”.

He said: “There are 18 EU states who have recapitalised their banks to the tune of €300bn. There are bank guarantees to the tune of trillions of euros in European banking.”

Sinn Féin said the Taoiseach did not have the mandate from the country to introduce such far-reaching measures. But Mr Cowen said he “would not take lectures on parliamentary democracy” from that party.