Most Popular Tags
Search
| Ireland |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by Gordon Prentice | |||
| Tuesday, 16 November 2010 21:13 | |||
|
What’s going to happen to Ireland? I’ve been watching the news and the omens aren’t so good. I thought things were looking a bit dodgy back in April when I discovered there were 621 ghost housing estates scattered across the Irish Republic. The banks had financed this frenzy of construction. The councils had given planning permissions. But no-one bought the houses. Today, one in every five houses in Ireland stands empty. How on earth was this allowed to happen? Everywhere it seems the bankers have escaped scot-free. When things started going pear shaped in the UK in 2008, I bought the argument that the Government had to step in to save, first, Northern Rock and then the others. To do otherwise would have led to a run on all the banks and a collapse of the entire system. I was wrong. Allowing a bank - or banks - to go under while safeguarding the the position of the depositors – as opposed to the investors – would have given the bankers something to chew on. As it is, they have walked away from the chaos they created, still stuffing fat bonuses into their wallets. And whatever happened to the concept of fiduciary duty? This was supposed to guard against reckless behaviour. Now, day-by-day, we begin to see the impact on real people as the cuts begin to bite. And, just like Sir Fred Goodwin, those responsible have simply melted away. 
|
|||
| Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 November 2010 23:16 |