Ordinary workers must pay for bankers’ greed

THE Dáil has passed the NAMA legislation to bail out the bankers who have done so much to bring about the present economic mess.

I believe its establishment will only serve to make a dreadful situation immeasurably worse.

Senior bankers and the totally ineffective regulators who were charged with monitoring their conduct have received massive payoffs and substantial pensions while ordinary workers are now saddled with the cost of rectifying the situation caused by their recklessness, greed and concern only with maintaining the lavish lifestyles their questionable activities had brought them.

The same ordinary workers must try somehow to pay the bloated mortgages which the property mania, fed in large part by the greed of bankers, has hung around their necks and probably the necks of future generations.

They contend with all of this while they battle against negative equity on their houses, day-to-day living costs and the ever-growing threat of unemployment. Bernie Madoff, the New York swindler, who conned people out of millions of dollars, is now safely ensconced in jail but the major players in the Irish banking crisis who by their highly questionable practices, their golden circles and their cronyism are in large part responsible for our troubles are enjoying golf breaks in Portugal.

Who says crime doesn’t pay?

Cllr Noel Collins

‘St Jude’s’

Midleton

Co Cork