Bank union seeks a full inquiry — not scapegoats

IBOA — The Finance Union welcomes the recent suggestion by UCD economist Colm McCarthy on the need for a public inquiry into what went wrong with the Irish banking system.

Not only does the general public deserve a thorough explanation, but thousands of ordinary bank employees also deserve to know how a substantial failure of leadership in the financial services sector has placed their jobs and livelihoods in jeopardy.

We concur with Mr McCarthy’s suggestion that such an inquiry should be conducted by an Oireachtas committee along the lines of the DIRT inquiry. Although there may be an understandable public desire to find specific individuals to blame, the banking crisis has resulted from a widespread systemic failure — involving not just the financial institutions themselves but also the public agencies charged with their supervision and regulation.