'The high hopes of the founders of the State dashed in a sea of incompetence, sharp practice and appalling greed'
The economic landslide pervades the country. We are in a sorry mess, broke, bitter, banjaxed, an international joke, the high hopes of the founders of the State dashed in a sea of incompetence, sharp practice and appalling greed.
The recent RTE television clip of the intrepid Charlie Bird making his way to the door of the holiday home in Cape Cod of a former senior executive of Anglo Irish Bank, only to be rebuffed, said it all.
Contrast, so far at any rate, the manner in which those former Anglo Irish Bank executives continue to live in palatial houses, while those unable to pay their mortgages on modest homes are in danger of being homeless. Where is the justice in all of that?
The Irish people have been assured that justice will be done and seen to be done. People continue to wait and wait for vindication and see that justice will, indeed, be done. Time will tell.
There is much talk, particularly from the Government, that it is time to move on and put the country's finances rights. In other words, forget the series of events, and the culture in the financial world, that brought us to this sorry pass.
That would be a very wrong thing to do. Of course, the country's financial mess has to be sorted out. That has caused much pain. And it is far from being over. The Irish people are picking up the tab.
But we should not forget the past, what brought us to where we are. That could create an atmosphere whereby the mistakes of the past were repeated some time in the future.
Anyway, there has not been a sufficient explanation of what went wrong and an adequate sharing of blame among those responsible. So let us remember it. Let it run deep in our national psyche. Let us never forget.
This economic depression has destroyed lives and blunted the legitimate ambitions of a new generation who were educated in the heady days of the Celtic Tiger and had reasonable expectations of living and working in their native country.
Today, apart from massive unemployment, there is the horrible reality of the resumed scourge of enforced emigration.
Unfortunately now, unlike the past, London and New York are no longer boltholes for a generation who have to leave their native country to find work. In such circumstances, it is nothing short of breathtaking arrogance on the part of the Government and others to suggest that we should now move on and not continue to dwell on the circumstances which created the mess.
Last week saw the full revelation of the scale of the economic crisis and the manner in which bankers ran amok. Where was the financial regulatory system?
Where were our politicians who were in power, drawing huge salaries to mind the shop, and travelling around in State cars and the Government jet?
The figures have been well documented. They are truly frightening. The infamous Anglo Irish Bank alone could cost us over 20 billion euro. The debate goes on whether the Government should offload this financial atrocity or simply plough on.
The highly respected Brian Lenihan will do what is best for the country. And he remains resolutely opposed to offloading it right now.
"We would like to see the back of this institution, but it is not possible,'' he said. "The scale of the deposits, the exposures to the euro system and the exposures to senior debt are extensive and are in the order of 70 billion euro.'' He added that was a very serious liability to ask the Irish taxpayer to pick up next week.
The blunt reality is that we are not entirely certain where we are going with the banking crisis. We have not been there before. There is no definitive solution. Fine Gael and Labour are making their proposals on the basis of what they think is right. Nobody knows for sure. The hope is that we will get things right.
Meanwhile, the backbench unrest with Brian Cowen disappeared in a puff of smoke, in terms of a challenge to his leadership, at last week's Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting.
John McGuinness stood alone in calling on the Taoiseach to step down. The unrest remains, of course. But changing the leadership now would be pointless. And there is no indication at all that a new leader would be any better.
Lenihan would be the obvious choice, but he has health issues to deal with right now.
Cowen's position was helped somewhat by the attack in the Dail on him earlier by the Labour leader, Eamon Gilmore.
Gilmore accused Cowen of "economic treason'', adding that his Government had made decisions to save the skins of a number of individuals.
Some of them, said Gilmore, were connected to Fianna Fail and their property interests and prosperity were bound up with the fortunes of Anglo Irish Bank.
The Taoiseach responded with an emotional defence of his position. He insisted that his motivations had been laudable in any decision he made.
"I would never come into this House to accuse another Irishman of what he accused me,'' he added. His Fianna Fail colleagues applauded him.
This was the cut and thrust of political debate in a grim environment for the country.
Brian Cowen is a man of integrity. That is not in doubt. However, his judgement and that of his colleagues are being called in question. And it remains a fact that he was Minister for Finance when the economic earthquake, which has so damaged this country, was visible on the horizon.
It should be remembered, too, that his putative successors, Dermot Ahern and Micheal Martin, sat around the same Cabinet table.
Their judgement is under scrutiny to an equal degree.
And there are other Ministers, who survived the reshuffle, who were there too when the Bertie Ahern-led Cabinet failed to call a halt to the madness.
The Government, meanwhile, continues to shoot itself in the foot to an astonishing degree. Own goals are the order of the day. At a time of economic crisis, with much work to be done, the Dail is not even sitting this week.And, God help us, there is supposed to be a Cabinet committee considering Oireachtas reform.
The Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan, could not even muster a few words in the Dail last week when the Opposition criticised the two-week Easter holiday. What planet is this Government living on? What message did the Taoiseach and his Ministers send to the public?
If you are in Government, of course, it makes for a much easier life if the Dail is not sitting. The Opposition cannot ask the Taoiseach and his Ministers to account for themselves.
That escape from accountability might have worked in the past.
But not now. There is a justifiable rage among the Irish people.
And the Government continues to fuel that rage by dodging its responsibilities with a two-week Easter holiday from parliament.
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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