Political forces erased tenet of common good

Ray Kinsella says Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan has made a big contribution but political forces and other interests were too strong to reinstate the principle of public service.

THE decision by Prof Patrick Honohan to retire as governor of the Central Bank later this year is sensible.

He has done a near-impossible job presiding over the greatest monetary debacle in the history of the State. His appointment in 2009 was singular — it broke a long tradition whereby the post was filled from the senior echelons of the Department of Finance.