Bank debt relief - A chastening assertion

Yesterday’s assertion by German MP and economic policy spokesman for Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU party, Dr Joachim Pfeiffer, that we have "no chance" of getting a deal on the €64bn used to rescue insolvent banks is at the very least chastening.

Not only does it confirm an almost impossible burden, it will curtail many social programmes for years to come. Though nothing more than one man’s opinion, albeit a centrally placed one, and though nothing is as yet finalised, it is indeed worrying that the very trend — soaring house prices — that was so central to our collapse is in evidence once again, especially in Dublin.