Noonan: State put at risk to rescue failed bank

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has been accused of neglecting his constitutional obligation to protect the country and instead sheltering a toxic bank.

Fine Gael’s Michael Noonan said the Government believed Anglo was too big to fail but it turned out to be an institution that was too big to save.

“The Government put the credit-worthiness of the sovereign state at risk to rescue a failed bank. It should never have gotten into that situation. The national interest always requires that one protects the credit-worthiness of the sovereign,” he said.