Taxpayers left paying the burden

The remarks by EU Economic Commissioner Olli Rehn to the effect that Ireland should not question the squandering of over €3.1bn to pay back promissory notes to speculators in a dead bank is the latest masterclass in arrogance, courtesy of the country’s new EU overlords (Irish Examiner, Mar 14).

Whatever way one cares to break it down, Ireland is (along with Greece, Portugal et al) now effectively being dictated to by the two largest European states and our Taoiseach seems happy to allow this even if it means that, in total, over the next 20 years, the State will have to fork out just short of €50bn to the speculators who lost out on their gamble. Too bad if a generation of Irish citizens are forced to emigrate on account of the fallout from the counterproductive austerity measures that they now wish to enshrine legally by putting a gun — again — to our heads in a referendum.

This dictatorship is quite blatant and apparent to anyone with even half functioning grey matter.