Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

The programme for Government promised burden sharing so that the gambling bondholders in the Irish banks would carry at least some of the massive losses they incurred and which are now being foisted on the people. However, the Minister for Finance said yesterday that we are no longer pursuing this option. In other words the economic lifeblood of the people is to continue pouring for all the bad gambling debts of the speculators. What has changed? Did big sister, Chancellor Merkel, order the Taoiseach to drop this demand at the meeting of EU leaders? What was he told at the meeting about the demand? We need clear answers. What has changed with his Labour Party colleagues? Only three weeks ago they were lining up the tanks to roll on Frankfurt to insist on terms with the ECB against the pressure of speculators. Now it appears the tanks will not get any further than the local social welfare office to shake down the unemployed and the poor to pay off the very same speculators. What happened? Let us have a clear and honest answer.

Since 2009, €15.4 billion has been poured into the banks by the taxpayer and a further €40 billion is contemplated. The Minister for Finance stated yesterday, as was alluded to, that sustainability becomes doubtful. In other words, a default is possible because the people cannot pay this amount. At what point is it unsustainable? Is it when interest reaches €7 billion, €8 billion or €10 billion per annum? Can the Taoiseach tell us? Is he aware of the comment by Mr. David McWilliams that the talk in Wall Street is of a default among the marketeers? Will the Taoiseach at least declare now that the people cannot pay and, starting with the €19 billion of largely subordinated unsecured bonds that are due to be paid by crippled banks very shortly, pour those billions instead into massive job creation programmes here to end the awful suffering of our unemployed people?

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