Madam, – Your correspondent Henry Roberts (April 7th) makes a good point but has mixed up apples and oranges. The €15.3 billion quoted for California refers to its expected budget deficit for 2010-11 (ie excess of expenditure over income). The good news is that the €79 billion quoted for Ireland relates to our total national debt rather than the budgeted deficit. However, the bad news is that this national debt is about to double thanks to Nama, bank bailouts and ongoing budget deficits. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Government has told us many times that one of the main purposes of the bank bailout is to get the banks lending again. Is the Government misinforming the voters or is the Bank of Ireland misinforming the Government? In Ranelagh, the Bank of Ireland branch is to be demolished next month to be replaced by a much more substantial building (a building that is, by the way, inappropriate in scale and design for the village). Is this an appropriate time for a bailed out bank to be undertaking property development of this kind? Should not the money the bank is spending on this development rather be available for lending to some of its customers? – Yours, etc,
A chara, - Considering the figures coming out in relation to haircuts and fees, the Nama valuers should not be called barbers (March 30th), but demon barbers? - Is mise,