Sir, – Fabian McGrath thinks it is an “unedifying spectacle” that this country is “now reduced to . . . ringing Germany’s chancellor in the middle of the night, in a panic” asking her to “look after us” (October 23rd).
Fintan O’Toole, on the same day (Opinion Analysis), says this country is “colluding in its own destruction” because we are “forced to beggar ourselves to pay off debts that ‘we’ never incurred”. He says we should recognise that “Ireland cannot pay” and by implication recommends that we ring again and tell the German chancellor we will default.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with either or both doom-laden diagnoses, it is true that this country is bankrupt and depending on foreigners to keep the ATMs open.
That “unedifying spectacle” has been before our eyes for some years now.
Whether it warrants defaulting on our debts, with all the destruction of public wealth that would bring, is open to question. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – There is no need for Dr Angela Merkel to visit Ireland to find out about poverty (EF Fanning, October 23rd). Unemployment in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is running at 14 per cent. At 23 per cent, the at-risk-of-poverty level (Eurostat) is higher there than in Ireland.
May I suggest an alternative tour? Perhaps she could visit Nama and be shown a list of the debtors, together with the salaries they are drawing on their “business plans”. Then she could call on Seán Quinn and extended family to see how the poor things are coping. An afternoon at the races is essential. She could help serve the champagne in one of those tents in Galway.
As for Enda Kenny, I would recommend he visit a state prosecutor’s office in Germany and asks what happens to undischarged bankrupts who engage in what an Irish High Court judge called “blatantly dishonest and deceitful” conduct. A trip to the prison facilities at Stammheim and Hohen Asperg would be appropriate. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The recent euro-babble emanating from all quarters regarding the State’s finances reminds me of Saul Bellow’s remark: “A great deal of intelligence can be invested in nonsense when the need for illusion is deep.” — Yours, etc,
Sir, – I bet Frank McNally could come up with 100 ways of describing the “special case”.
I rest my valise. – Yours, etc,