Bank questions still need answers

CHRISTMAS can be a time for reminiscing with family and friends.

Thinking back over the past 30 years to the tough times and the good times, it is apparent that vast changes in our lifestyles and wellbeing have transformed our lives to the extent that explaining to those now in their 20s how life was when we were in our 20s was a bit of an eye-opener for some.

We are a small open economy that has benefited from advances in technology, membership of the EU, the euro and the globalisation of production and the mobility of labour. Nevertheless we are victims of foolishness and the dominance of the banking and speculative money market over the political systems in which they operate. Banking is on a world stage and we cannot shelter from the free flow of speculative monies. However, we can engage in a conversation on the subject of the influence of the virtual reality of the speculative market on the actual reality of our lives and the lives of millions of citizens. The markets have been allowed to have enormous influence in the United States and Europe and the rest of the trading world. At present we have had austerity imposed on us in order to ensure that no bank fails and no speculator loses. This begs the question about the very core nature of the speculative market if no losses are allowed. Billions of euro are due to be transferred to Anglo next year but it has never been explained by the Government why, if these monies were not part of the bailout agreement, we should now be obliged to pay them. If we are to have a referendum on treaty change, we need to clear this up first.