Why not a bailout to help ordinary people?

SO the banks have been bailed out to the tune of €80bn from the public purse amid the likelihood of an infinite sum to come.

The benefit, we are told: opening up lines of credit to get businesses going. The real benefit: assisting those who did little to assist the rest of us to get out of the predicament they muddled their way into.

Am I missing something? Why can’t the Government muster up a much more useful fund, say €10bn, and come up with ideas to put the country back to work: civil schemes to repair roads, address housing maintenance issues, replenish and restore community spirit, tackle the scourge of litter?