Campaigners call for halt to Anglo bailout payments

A CAMPAIGN group is calling on the Government to stop repaying Anglo and Irish Nationwide’s massive debts.

Debt Justice Action, a collection of unions, social justice groups and academics, says it is entirely wrong that the taxpayer is being left to foot the €30.6 billion bill for the Anglo and Nationwide bailout.

Anglo and Nationwide were merged last year into an asset recovery bank called the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) after the Government pumped a combined €30.6bn in to them by way of a promissory note, or IOU.

The Government is repaying this with interest over a 30-year period, meaning the final bill will actually be €47.4bn. The first repayment of €3.1bn is due to be paid on March 31.

Launching their campaign yesterday,!! Debt Justice Action said the Irish people were not responsible for the financial institutions’ reckless lending.

“This money could and should be used to maintain and expand public services and provide a desperately needed stimulus to the depressed economy. For example, €3.1bn would cover the cost of running Ireland’s entire primary school system for a year,” the group said.

“We call on the Government to immediately suspend these repayments and to enter into negotiations with the relevant parties, including the European Central Bank — to ensure that this unjust debt is written down.”

The group has urged members of the public to contact their local representatives as well as the finance minister to make their feelings about the issue known.

Tom McDonnell, an economist with independent think-tank TASCT, which is providing technical advice to the group, said Ireland’s debt dynamics were on a “knife edge”.

Jimmy Kelly of UNITE trade union said the debt could be written off if the Government was determined enough. “All that is needed is the political will to make it happen. That depends on our Government negotiating proactively and responsibly on behalf of its people,” he said.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil last week that Government efforts to lower the cost of the bailout by arranging an alternative funding mechanism to the promissory note were continuing with the EU and IMF.