Banks and public debt are not separate issues

I AGREE with your columnist Ivan Yates when he says (April 15) members of the public service should, in their own interests, approve the Croke Park agreement.

I disagree with him, however, when he says “the justifiable anger over banking collapses, burst property bubbles and the corporate betrayal of trust is separate to the unsustainability of our public finances”.

Just because, as Ivan Yates says, “the Government has succeeded in ensuring that NAMA, the nationalisation of Anglo, INBS and EBS are being financed off balance sheet” does not mean the taxpayer is not ultimately responsible for repayment. The Government’s agenda, promoted daily by its cheerleaders in the media, is to scapegoat the members of the public service in order to justify cutting their pay.