Fine Gael today renewed its calls for the Government to revisit its plans to restructure Anglo Irish Bank and shut it down if saving it is not economically viable.
Finance spokesman Michael Noonan noted Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said last year the cost to the taxpayer of saving Anglo would be €4.5 billion.
“The Minister’s estimate has now risen to almost € 25 billion and Standards and Poors, when evaluating Ireland’s creditworthiness last week, put the cost at €35 billion,” he said.
Mr Noonan said the uncertainty about the back is having serious consequences for the Irish economy, with borrowing costs rising and credit lines tighter.
He called on Mr Lenihan to conclude negotiations with the European Commission “as a matter of urgency” and state clearly what the plan for the bank is.
“He must produce an accurate and internationally acceptable estimate of the cost of the Anglo rescue to the taxpayer, and he must clearly show that his rescue plan is less costly than an orderly wind down of the bank would be,” he said. “If he cannot do this, than an orderly wind down should commence immediately.
He claimed the Green Party was in favour of such a course of action. “The Greens are wrong about most issues but they may be right on this one.”