New orthodoxy needs open debate on euro

Colette Browne (Opinion, Jan 25) is right when she says that “the government has run out of straws at which to clutch” when it tells those of us that complain “to live in the real world”.

The suggestion is that there are no better, options than the ones currently being pursued by government. The problem is that, going back 10 or more years, there were much better options than the ones being pursued by government.

These would have included options that would not have resulted in the country going bankrupt. Ms Browne tells us that “the real world is no longer fit for purpose” at the moment. I have to disagree with her but the real world, as pursued by Irish governments for over a decade, was not fit for purpose. I agree with her that it is now way past time for a new orthodoxy. That new orthodoxy should include an open debate on our options, if any, outside of euro membership. If the only way to keep the holes in the wall open is to stay within the euro then, so be it. But let all of us into the argument.