Barroso’s claims are dishonest at best

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso incorrectly claims the euro currency was a “victim” of the problems caused by Ireland.

The Irish banks were irresponsible, but what triggered their greed was not only the almost-zero interest on their borrowings from French and German banks, but the infinite amount of money available to them.

German workers were frugal and saved their money, but they had an expectation of interest on their savings, and the only way German banks could offer this percentage was by finding idiots who would borrow big from them. Anglo were their first target, and the other Irish banks soon jumped on the merry-go-round.

If proper controls had been in place in the EU and European banks, then none of the Irish banks would have had access to money of that magnitude. Mr Barroso is correct in condemning the recklessness of Irish bankers, but the pyramid selling started in his own backyard, and our own inept senior officials were like kids in a sweetshop when they realised the goodies were unattended.

Brian Lenihan, a man of undoubted integrity, made the error of guaranteeing our banks’ debts, rather than just their deposits, and Enda & Co have unnecessarily honoured this ever since.

But his actions did save a run on banks all over Europe in 2008, and Mr Barroso is now conveniently forgetting this. It is dishonest at best, and bordering on fraud at worst.

John Mallon

Mayfield

Cork