Over-confidence has been our undoing

AS justification for pouring in excess of €50 billion into our banks, so far, we are often offered the opinion that it is in order to build confidence with the markets.

This line of thought first emerged when the Minister for Finance was motivated to phone the Director General of RTÉ to discourage the Joe Duffy show, who were broadcasting calls from worried depositors, from doing what is expected of a programme titled Live Line.

The blanket guarantee to all Irish banks, including the insolvent Anglo Irish, was also offered by the same minister as being necessary to maintain confidence in our banking system. Our confident minister offers the same mythical science (confidence building) in almost every statement relating to fiscal, budgetary, banking or monetary decisions.

Perhaps he learned it from Sean Fitzpatrick who, according to Simon Kelly (author of Breakfast with Anglo) in an interview with Marian Finucane, offered him an investment opportunity in the dying days of Anglo. Now that’s confidence from a man now claiming to be bankrupt. Such is the confidence displayed by our minister for finance that it is surprising that any interest is charged on Irish bonds at all.

The consistency of Brian Lenihan’s confidence is only matched by his ability to get it wrong on every prediction he makes. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is that confidence cannot be rooted constantly in bluff.

David Hughes

Clonsilla

Dublin 15