No welfare cuts for Anglo’s golden circle

THE Green party leader John Gormley assures us there was “no other option” but to cut welfare payments in the budget.

There was also “no option” previously but to cancel the Christmas welfare payment. Let us test these assertions. Anglo Irish Bank’s “golden circle” members were granted non-recourse loans totalling €450 million in what appears to have been a share support operation.

The bank later wrote off €300m of these loans when things went belly up at Anglo. Now the taxpayer has taken on this debt since Anglo was nationalised.