Mr Lenihan’s health - A deeply reassuring performance

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan gave a bravura performance yesterday.

He explained his cancer problems with clarity, dignity and directness but without any of the sense of hurt or victimhood that can sometimes attend these occasions.

Mr Lenihan’s focus was simple; confront the problem, deal with it as best as is possible and get on with life. He said that he and his family have accepted the great challenge presented by his illness but intend to live as normally as circumstances will allow.

It might put even more unnecessary pressure on Mr Lenihan’s overburdened shoulders to suggest that his performance, like that of so many people diagnosed with cancer, was inspirational but it was certainly deeply reassuring. It rang with integrity and real intent at a time these qualities were never more important.

His intention is to continue in office unless his health deteriorates and, as long as this government remains in office, let us hope he is in a position to do so.

Mr Lenihan will have little enough time to consider his difficulties as today’s exchequer returns for 2009 will illustrate the scale of the problem the country still faces in relation to the public finances.

The figures will show that the tax take for the year plummeted to €32.5 billion, the same as in 2003, while Government spending was around €56 billion.

One positive aspect of these unsustainable figures is that the fall in tax revenues may have bottomed out in the final months of last year and may even be slightly ahead of the estimates in last year’s budget.

Apart from the public finances, the other major issue facing Mr Lenihan is how to fix the banks. This will become even more pressing as the impact of the NAMA valuations becomes clearer. It now seems that the writedown in the value of the loans to developers will be significantly greater than was expected and this will put the banks under pressure to raise more capital.

The banks are working to try to raise funds but it seems more and more inevitable that further State funds will be involved one way or another. All through his RTÉ interview yesterday Mr Lenihan said the need to stabilise the banks came before everything else. Insistent as he is, and he is undoubtedly right, about rescuing the banks, it is still galling that State finances are being pillaged to save once-sound businesses destroyed by the recklessness and greed of their management.

That is why the resolve Mr Lenihan showed yesterday is so reassuring especially when he agreed that there would eventually be an inquiry into to the whole sorry, shameful episode.

Mr Lenihan is the only member of the Government to enhance his credibility in the last 18 months. He has shown resolve and courage when few others did. He has won domestic and international support for his measures to save our economy. He has successfully communicated the scale of our difficulties and how few options we have. Too often it seemed he was all that stood between us and complete collapse. For all of these selfish reasons, and many, many more, we must all wish Mr Lenihan a speedy and complete recovery.