Sir, – David Drumm's decision to seek bankruptcy protection in the United States was at best ill-judged from a public relations perspective, but blaming him for his role in Ireland's current economic woes is analogous to him being made captain of the Titanicafter it struck the iceberg; and asking him to go down with the ship. There are a great many others who had a far greater role in steering the course that brought Ireland to financial ruin. In particular, the politicians, regulators and Civil Service mandarins, all now enjoying fabulous pensions, whose job it was to control the banks. If we are going to have a witch-hunt in 21st-century Ireland, it should at least be an equal opportunities one. After all, who do you think Anglo gave all the golf balls and football tickets to? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – In view of financial constraints, can we expect that IRBC Bank Ltd will overprint the Anglo golf umbrellas and golf balls with their new logo rather than ordering a new supply? Then again, if an Irish supplier were to get an order for thousands of golf balls, it might produce a job or two! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I note the trustee in the bankruptcy proceedings, Boston lawyer Kathleen Dwyer, is arguing that Mrs Lorraine Drumm would be “unjustly enriched” if she retained an interest in the Boston property (Business Today, September 14th). The doctrine of unjust enrichment was approved in this jurisdiction by the Supreme Court in the Harris case in December 2005. Would not the impoverished Irish taxpayer be somewhat enriched if the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Nama and other bodies took a leaf out of Ms Dwyer’s brief in their dealings with certain unjust asset transfers on this side of the Atlantic? – Yours, etc,