Euro has condemned us to years of hardship

IS there any doubt now that the euro has been an unmitigated disaster for Ireland?

We have the 2009 report by Prof Patrick Honohan, Irish Central Bank governor, which recounts how a genuinely ‘tiger’ Irish economy lost its way after the launch of, and because of, the euro.

Now, to compound the economic ruin of Ireland and stifle even hope of recovery, the ECB has clearly embarked on a series of eurozone interest rate rises which will grind indebted Irish businesses and households yet further into debt. ECB’s Trichet says rates must rise to curb inflation across the eurozone. This, simply, is rubbish. The main drivers of EU inflation are rises in food, oil and commodity prices. These have nothing whatsoever to do with eurozone interest rates but are due to global factors including rapidly declining resources, massively increasing world consumption and, lately, Middle East turbulence.

Far from being a source of strength and support, the euro has proven to be a honey trap for Ireland which now condemns us to years of deflation and hardship.

We need an urgent debate on regaining our economic freedom and flexibility by leaving the euro and returning to our own currency, the éire, launched at euro parity then free to float, as with the old punt.

Dr Tony Herbert

Summerhill North

Cork