Professor Alan Ahearne:

Even in those banks the money was not literally going down the drain. Somebody was getting it. In the case of Anglo Irish Bank, the people who got it were the depositors and senior bondholders. If the Government had not recapitalised those banks there would probably have been a 50% discount on all deposits and all senior bonds. The fact that the money went in made the deposits good and kept them whole. If the failed banks had not been recapitalised the guarantee would have been triggered. They were recapitalised to prevent the guarantee from being triggered.