Failings that led to fall of FF
Former FF ministers describe how it was wrong that the September 30, 2008 guarantee of bank deposits and debts was decided in the middle of the night.
Brian Cowen’s inability to communicate as taoiseach and his “loyalty to tribalism” within the party is also pinpointed.
Mr Cowen favoured those he knew well and were big family names within the party, former minister John McGuinness says.
Crisis: Inside the Cowen Government, written by Pat Leahy, pieces together the story of the government that brought Ireland to the edge of bankruptcy.
The first episode of the series explains how Fianna Fáil, under Bertie Ahern, perfected its political model by turning economic success into political gain. Former ministers then detail the Cowen government.
According to Willie O’Dea, ministers who were phoned to approve a cabinet decision in the early hours of September 30, 2008, were told that “the markets were opening in the morning at 8 o’clock and there was the possibility of no money in the ATMs” if the guarantee wasn’t approved.
“Nothing short of this full absolute guarantee would save the situation,” he says.
According to Mary Hanafin, ministers were told “it was the only option to protect people’s money and it had to be done before the markets opened”.
Both ministers are critical of the way decisions were taken, and query why the cabinet wasn’t brought together for a discussion.
“It was probably the most far-reaching decision I ever participated in my five years in cabinet and I would have liked to have sat around the table to discuss it,” Mr O’Dea says.
“That decision shouldn’t have been taken at a quarter to two in the morning,” says Ms Hanafin.
* Crisis: Inside the Cowen Government airs tonight on RTÉ1 at 9.35pm
