Anglo bailout act of insanity – UL Economist

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THE Head of Economics at the University of Limerick has described the bailing out of Anglo Irish Bank, to the cost of โ‚ฌ22.3billion, as โ€˜an act of insanityโ€™.

Speaking to the Limerick Post, Dr Anthony Leddin said: โ€œIt is an act of insanity to use Irish taxpayers money to bail out this dysfunctional bankโ€. The academic believes that the problems go back to the bank guarantee scheme in December 2008.

โ€œThe Minister of Finance clearly didnโ€™t know the extent of the problem at the time, and if so, he shouldnโ€™t have bailed out this completely ridiculous bankโ€.

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Labour TD Jan Oโ€™Sullivan, meanwhile, believes taxpayers have been betrayed following the governmentโ€™s decision to pump an extra โ‚ฌ21.8 billion into banking institutions.

However her Fianna Fail counterpart, Deputy Niall Collins, disputes her assertion, and claims his party are dealing with the reality of the situation.

โ€œThere is a choice; do you do something or do you do nothing?โ€.

Jan Oโ€™Sullivan shares the anger of the public: โ€œEvery man, woman and child in the country will be paying for this for decades, in order to bail out delinquent bankers and their developer friendsโ€.

She said that she had voted against the initial bank guarantee scheme in 2008, along with party colleagues.

โ€œIn my opinion, Anglo Irish Bank should have been let go, that bank is never going to workโ€.

Niall Collins disagrees, and stressed the importance of not allowing the bank to collapse, โ€œWe now have a new financial regulator, a new Governor of the Central Bank, and it is not an option to allow any of our banks to failโ€.

According to Deputy Oโ€™Sullivan, the implications of present decision making will have drastic affects for years to come.

โ€œFor every budget for the foreseeable future, before any money is put aside for health, schools or jobs, we will have to commit as much as the entire Education budget to NAMAโ€.

Niall Collins said that it was important to recognise that NAMA is being run completely outside the day to day budget of the country.ย  โ€œTo say that our schools and our hospitals are being deprived to run NAMA, is not the caseโ€.

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Jan Oโ€™Sullivan is astounded that an enormous amount of the public purse is being committed to failed banks.

โ€œRather than committing money to real businesses and real jobs for real people, money is being pumped into something that gives absolutely nothing backโ€.

Deputy Collins stated that โ‚ฌ3 billion has been ring fenced, which the banks will be obliged to lend to the SME sector.

โ€œThey will each have to prepare a plan by geographical region and sector to ensure that the money is distributed evenlyโ€.

He also said that people who are refused credit will have an opportunity to apply the decision through an independent arbitrator.

Deputy Oโ€™Sullivan is concerned about those who have been left unemployed by the credit crisis and the retired, whose pensionsย  have been decimated.

โ€œThe ordinary quiet good people of Ireland who have worked hard have no say in whatโ€™s going onโ€.