Lenihan blunder - Admit your mistake now

WHEN the Taoiseach admitted that he had not read the Lisbon Treaty the writing was on the wall for the Government’s campaign to have it endorsed.

When Micheál Martin had to admit that he, as Minister for Health, had not read the report on illegal fees at nursing homes his credibility was severely damaged.

That Finance Minister Brian Lenihan admitted he did not fully read a report on the banking sector before investing billions in it is nothing short of frightening. His continued insistence late yesterday that he has done nothing wrong does nothing to ease that fear.

He knows he should have read it, we know he should have read it, and he knows that we know he should have read it. He must acknowledge that he has made a serious error before his intransigence undermines his capacity to be as effective as we all need him to be.