Madam, - I would like to add my voice to that of Father Brian Geoghan (June 14th) in support of the innocent victims of banking practices who find themselves without redress in a situation not of their making.
There are a number of parties to this débâcle. There are the banks which facilitated and encouraged members of the public to open dubious accounts. There are people who were aware of the nature of these accounts and were happy to use them to avoid tax. I have no sympathy for them. But there were others who were not aware of the nature of these accounts, who trusted their bank advisers, and now find themselves suffering drastic consequences.
There are the Revenue Commissioners, whose change of approach caught the banks offside, who are now reaping a bonanza in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.
In 1985 AIB found itself in dire circumstances as a result of its investment in the Insurance Corporation of Ireland. Because it had clout and was one of the pillars of the State, it was bailed out by the community through the action of the government of the day. I would like to think it is now payback time. People who have no clout are suffering grievously because of the activities of AIB and other banks and need bailing out.
I would call on these banks and on the Government to come together, with the same sense of urgency as in the ICI collapse, to create a hardship fund for the innocent victims of shabby banking practices.
The banks' initial contribution should be the profits which they made from these activities.
The Government should top this up by diverting a proportion of the penalties and interest it is receiving, some of it from innocent parities.
An administrator, independent of the banks and the Government should be appointed to hear submissions from injured parties and distribute the funds on the merits of the claims.
Such a move might help to restore the image of the banks and the Government at a time when both are tarnished.
More importantly, it would help rectify a wrong which is crying out for attention. - Yours, etc.,
TONY BARDON,
Manor Heath,
Dublin 16.