David Higgins

On Bailout Tuesday last, the government told us how much of OUR money it was giving to the banks. Anglo Irish Bank, a small business bank is set to get the largest bailout, €18billion.

Much of the debate now focuses on how to deal with Anglo. Let it go to the wall or prop it up. It’s argued that letting it fail now would cost more to the taxpayer. “It’s too big to fail”.

This is a worthy discussion, however we need a bit of perspective here. Why are we bailing it out in the first place???

The government is gaining praise internationally because it is making the “tough decisions”. Bullshit!!

Maybe if Fianna Fáil and the PDs hadn’t let this happen in the first place, we wouldn’t have to bail them out.

People within banking have been saying since 2004 that the system was rotten. Easy credit allowed billions to be lent out with little chance of that money being returned.

Even in 2007 Michael Somers, then head of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), told an Oireachtas committee that Anglo was in trouble, so he was reluctant to deposit money with it.

Somers was one of the brightest people working in government yet nobody would listen to him. Fianna Fáil didn’t have the balls to stop the madness before it was too late. And of course, 2007 was an election year!!

So, maybe FF have it right this time, maybe bailing out Anglo is our only option. BUT, who gave us this option in the first place? Who sent us down this one way street?? Fianna Fáil, and don’t you forget it!

It’s RTÉ radio 1 on a Friday morning and the nation is listening to a discussion on NAMA. In the blue corner is George Lee, one of Fine Gael’s top economic spokesmen. He’s certain to have a cabinet position after the next election and he knows his stuff when it comes to the banks.

Then the green corner, Fianna Fáil. Fine Gael have a heavy-weight out, surely the government will send either a minister, a junior minister or a Green Party TD to debate. No, all they gave us was Frank Fahey! He quite incorrectly described George Lee’s proposals as “11th hour” when all the proposals were made by Fine Gael before George Lee was even a politician, earlier this year. Also considering Fahey is deep in investor circles means he’s not exactly the most appropriate person to debate the NAMA legislation. See here for more information on his conflicts of interest in property and investments.

The most worrying part of this discussion was when Frank Fahey was asked about the property market. He was asked whether the market would rebound. His response was most worrying. “It has already started……”!

Also equally disturbing and alarming was his attitude to spending a suggested 30 billion euro of taxpayers money.
“It’s not. It is ECB money which will be borrowed at one and a half per cent”.

What planet is this guy from?

The Galway West TD was one of the many unknown TD’s we saw this week out to debate NAMA. Where’s the Taoiseach, where’s Brian Lenihan? To be fair the Minister for Finance did make an appearance mid-week to respond to Fine Gael’s bank proposals however it’s clear by the inaction of the rest of the cabinet that NAMA isn’t up for discussion, that it’s a done deal.

It’s not, and the protests scheduled for September 12th and 19th will prove that the public don’t see it as a done deal.