Madam, – Is it lèse majesté to challenge the EU Commission and the ECB and demand of them an account of their stewardship as ultimate guardians of the euro? When Ireland abandoned the punt and embraced the euro it surrendered its monetary sovereignty. Along with the other euro-zone partners, Ireland lost the right to fix interest rates and the last desperate monetary resort of devaluation through the printing press – “quantitative easing”. Did we not then have the legitimate expectation that the new euro “Fed” entrusted with protecting the economies of euro-zone states would exercise due diligence in supervising and regulating their respective central banks? Did we all not have a sense of security in that the ECB exercising its supervisory duties would employ Europe’s best experts constantly to monitor economic, monetary and fiscal parameters; to be sceptical of unproven exotic investment formulae; to recognise and caution against “sub-prime debt” instruments and junk bonds; to be vigilant for the recurrence of modern variants of the 18th-century investment fraud of the South Sea Company, etc?
And did the new ECB retain the generally low EU interests rates at Germany’s behest in order to accelerate its re-integration of the former German Democratic Republic? Such low interest rates then encouraged the beginning of the property speculation here.
So as the ECB failed in its duty as euro-zone regulator, was it not also giving a “nod and a wink” to subordinate national central banks (and so to the “PIIGS” governments) that “light touch regulation” was okay? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Maybe we should apply the same logic as that of our former esteemed taoiseach Bertie Ahern to our impending rescue from Europe and view it as a “dig out” rather than a “bailout”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Given that ourselves and the other PIIGS states will soon be bailed out by our new Teutonic masters/EU partners, perhaps we should change the name European anthem from Ode to Joy to “Owed to Germany”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe was “absolutely unaware of any moves from Europe”. Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said, “There is nothing going on at the direction of Government in relation to this”. It was all “fiction”, he claimed. (Home News, November 16th).
Here are the facts – our banks are so indebted that they jeopardise the euro currency, with disastrous potential consequences. Our Ministers have failed to deal with the mess and Europe is taking over. The Ministers are off the circulation list for the key decisions and are now merely extras in the drama, providing comical relief to the Irish people as they brazenly flaunt their incompetence. Not alone have they lost the confidence of the Irish people to run our affairs, they have lost the confidence of Europe and the world’s capital markets.
The Ministers should focus on what they are best at, backslapping and handing out leaflets in byelections. Let Europe sort out the mess which they have presided over for the past 13 years and which they have manifestly failed to manage since the financial crisis began in 2008.
The hard-working Irish taxpayer has five years to earn back our sovereignty which has been ceded to Europe by these clowns. We’ll all work to do so before the centenary of 1916, in memory of those who gave their lives for it in the first place.
Ministers should stay tuned from South West Donegal – Olli Rehn might keep them posted on what’s happening! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The cartoonists will have a field day. I can see it all now. Queen Elizabeth arriving in Ireland in her golden Irish coach, dispensing pound coins from a large handbag to a tattered citizenry, saying, “One must point out it is only a loan”, while some of them are busy dismantling the coach and bagging the pieces to send to the cash-for-gold merchants, singing, “And Ireland long a nation, be a province once again”. Oh dear. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – One possible explanation for the Government‘s refusal of an EU bailout is that it wants another Irish political party to take the blame for the loss of sovereignty which will be a necessary pre-condition of EU/IMF help.
Dáil Éireann may refuse to pass the austerity budget next month thereby triggering a general election. The incoming government ( a Fine Gael/Labour coalition) will then have to agree to the harsh conditions of a bailout while Fianna Fáil can condemn such a “sell-out” from the padded comfort of the backbenches. The party which calls itself the Soldiers of Destiny can then celebrate 2016 with its pride intact as the country faces economic ruin as a result of its disastrous mismanagement. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Am I the only one who thinks the two Brians are playing a blinder at present, despite previous blunders? It needs tenacity and hanging in there and fighting the fight. Let them get on with bargaining a good interest rate from the EU, IMF, British, or whoever. They need all to remain calm to be effective. The media are slavishly following each other in criticising the Government, but that must now wait until after the present bout of EU talks and the bringing in of the budget. We can go back to downing the Government in, say, the spring, In the meantime, let them get on with it. – Yours, etc,