Our politicians and businessmen were willing to suck up to Gaddafi

CAN you imagine the ructions there would be now had our Government succeeded in getting the being deposed Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gadafi to invest in the rescue of our banks late last year?

The most serious questions would have to be asked about the wisdom, ethics and morals of allowing the regime of a murderous dictator to become involved in providing finance to dig our banks out of the deep hole in which they reside.

But apparently that’s exactly what representatives of this state tried to achieve. In February this year The Sunday Times reported that our National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) had attempted to secure a multibillion-euro investment for our main banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland, from Gaddafi’s international investment fund and did so in the first week of December last year. It even reported that Brian Lenihan, finance minister at the time, was aware of the negotiations that ensued.