Matt Cooper draws a grim graph of wheeling and dealing

Matt Cooper (Opinion, Dec 14) aims an arrow straight and true with his valid, jaundiced commentary at a recent key property acquisition —“Larry Goodman’s purchase of the old Bank of Ireland headquarters on Baggot Street in Dublin.”

Contextualising this significant symbolism against the backdrop of tribunal vagaries, boom/bust variations, political dalliances and high finance machinations, Cooper draws a grim graph of wheeling and dealing.

Decimating the beef industry, manipulating grant award systems to beat the band, bringing the country’s agricultural reputation to its knees, while deftly protecting one’s own personal wealth as theindustry all but expires, is all part and parcel of survival in the ‘bendy’ world of national industrial machination, it seems.

Just the cut and thrust of everyday shennanigans, grist to the mill for any self-respecting ‘entrepreneurial’ spirit.

For ‘self-respecting’ one should of course substitute ‘self-aggrandising’, and by the largest factor imaginable.

The collusory contrivance behaviour of the banking, political and regulatory systems in favouring the so-called ‘big players’ has been so often exposed but rarely fully cleaned out. Tribunals are for wimps, it would seem — seriously costly for the state, but little or no inconvenience for the perennial player of the high-stakes gambling.

Cooper concludes his candid commentary by drawing up “some lessons from it all” thus: “political influence pays; tribunals are an inconvenience with few lasting consequences for investigated businessmen, no matter what the findings; debt write-offs work for both borrowers and lenders; and every asset has a price as long as the seller is willing to accept its losses against the previous values.” The more you owe, the easier it gets.

Seems we are in rude bad health with regard to decency, fairness and moral compass.

I wonder what the cows think of it all — no doubt they could tell a tale or two.

Jim Cosgrove

Lismore

Co Waterford