‘Unelected and unaccountable bankers’ effectively ruling world

Any optimism about our “economic recovery” is surely tempered by listening to debates on national radio about whether or not qualified teachers should be paid €50 for a full week’s work.

Education is the indispensable foundation of a country’s social and economic future development. It offers the next generation the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills to live fulfilling lives and contribute successfully to society and economic growth.

Government spending on education is an investment in the future for all of us. That we have become so inured to injustice that anyone, least of all the professional teachers to whom we entrust the care and education of our children, could be expected to work for €50 a week is an utter travesty.

Rail workers, refuse collectors and nursing staff have also been driven to strikes and protests due to continued deterioration of their pay and working conditions. These measures are politically justified by the requirements of ‘austerity’ and ‘fiscal adjustment’.

Meanwhile, Bank of Ireland CEO Richie Boucher earned €843,000 last year. 17 bankers in Ireland were paid an average of more than €1.2m each in 2012, with 10 investment bankers and three retail bankers earning more than €1.4m each.

The inevitable outcome of decades of financial deregulation is that unelected and unaccountable bankers now effectively run the world. These new aristocrats offer nothing but a vision of unhindered private profiteering for the top 1% and their lackeys; and austerity, discipline and ultimately impoverishment for the rest of us.

Maeve Halpin

126 Ranelagh

Dublin