Lions Led By Donkeys

‘Lions led by donkeys’; nearly a century on, that’s how the British infantry (including tens of thousands of Irish)  and it’s officers are remembered from World War One. I wonder, a century from now, how will we and the current political leadership be remembered? Cast your mind back two years to June 28, 2012 and yet another eurozone summit meeting and the short statement issued on the separation of bank debt from sovereign debt, which included: "The Eurogroup will examine the situation of the Irish financial sector with the view of further improving the sustainability of the well-performing adjustment programme."

Remember Enda Kenny's 'seismic shift' boast? – "I'm a hard grafter and, as some of them found out, they shouldn't tangle with me too often." Remember Eamon Gilmore's 'game-changer' bombast? Two years on, what has shifted, what has changed?

For starters, we've had Michael Noonan's acclaimed promissory notes deal. Notes Michael himself described in an RTE interview as "illegal, totally" but which now sees that €25bn of disputed debt transformed to sovereign bonds.

The first of those bonds is sold this year, €0.5bn. That money is then destroyed by the Irish Central Bank; €0.5bn a year for the next five years, borrowed and burned, then €1bn a year for the following five years, €2bn a year for eight years and finally, in 2032, the last bond, €1.5bn.

A total of €25bn that had been used at the behest of the EC/ECB to bail out two bust banks, now borrowed by this broke and broken country and burned at the behest of that same EC/ECB, all set up by a compliant, obeisant Kenny/Gilmore Government without even a murmur of protest. They didn't even ask, nevermind confront.

Then there's the vaunted ESM from which we were to receive the billions refund of the 'legacy' bank debt arising from the June 2012 statement. The fund has been established and Ireland has already contributed a €1bn share to that, which, of course, we also had to borrow and on which we are now paying interest. What have we received? How much 'legacy' debt relief? Not a cent.

The actual legacy of this Government, the legacy this generation leaves, is debt piled on debt, 40 years of debt-slavery to our new European masters, all uncontested. 

Diarmuid O' Flynn, Ballyhea, Co. Cork