Call for ‘unsustainable’ bank debt to be cancelled

IRELAND’s bank debt should be cancelled on the grounds that it is “unjust and unsustainable,” a justice advocacy group has said.

Action from Ireland (AFRI), which seeks to influence policy in Ireland and internationally on human rights, peace and justice issues, will today launch a report, The IMF and Ireland: What we can learn from the global south. The group is also calling for a renegotiation of the EU/IMF bailout.

Chairperson Andy Storey, a UCD lecturer in the school of politics and international relations, said the group’s report draws on its experience in working with developing countries. It will outline what IMF policies have meant in those countries, how some have resisted the policies and what lessons can be learned for Ireland.