Bringing up baby — with a mountain of debt

WE recently were blessed with the arrival of a beautiful new granddaughter.

As a dutiful grandfather, I felt obliged to instruct her on some of the more salient facts of life in today’s Ireland.

I had to inform her that she was now the involuntary owner of a debt of at least €55,000, through no fault of hers. I explained that this was a kind of perpetual and perverted sanction on all citizens, courtesy of the sins of Fianna Fáil, the bankers and the developers.