Voice of public on bank bailout must be heard

As the interminable saga of Ireland's broken banking system drones on, it's easy to become desensitised to the staggering figures that, we are told, are necessary "to restore confidence" in the banks. However one statement of fact which we heard over the last week helped bring home just how much money is being pumped into the country's financial institutions. Put simply, if every man, woman and child on earth donated €10 to the Irish banks, it still wouldn't be enough to pay for the current recapitalisation. Yes, with latest bailout bringing the total banking bill to €70 billion, it really is that bad. Last week we had the latest, €24 billion, recapitalisation of the main Irish banks. While it was agreed and announced by a new Government, the news had a wearyingly familiar ring to it. That much was confirmed when former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan stated that the speech given by his successor, Michael Noonan, was virtually identical to the one he would have given in the circumstances if Fianna Fáil were still in power. There's something wrong with that picture. On February 25 last, after 14 years of Fianna Fáil-led Governments, the electorate clearly voted for a change of course. The party which received most support, Fine Gael, stated in its banking strategy, released during the election campaign, that: "Irish and other European taxpayers can no longer be expected to carry the can for reckless lending between Irish and other banks. It is a basic rule of capitalism that if you lend recklessly, you must take the consequences." Yet last week Fine Gael sidestepped its own words and poured an additional €24 billion into that 'can' we are all carrying on behalf of the banks. When talking about a renegotiation of the bailout, Fine Gael's coalition partners stated during the campaign that it was "Frankfurt's way or Labour's way." It's now obvious who's winning that tussle. Clearly, the position in which the Government finds itself is not straightforward. The State is reliant on lending from the European Central Bank, based on conditions largely dictated by Germany and France. The European powers assume that if Ireland continues to take the fiscal pain then the interests of their bondholders - and the Euro currency - will be protected. However the flaw in that logic is that introducing more and more cutbacks in the Irish economy will make the burden of debt Ireland has signed up for increasingly unsustainable. And if we reach a stage where Ireland can no longer replay its debts, the consequences will surely be felt throughout the entire Euro zone. The Irish people are being relied upon to pay back this debt mountain, and our views deserve to be heard. In February Iceland's president refused to sign into law a bill outlining plans to repay over €4bn to Britain and the Netherlands for debts incurred during that country's financial crisis, triggering a referendum on the issue. The Icelandic people will vote on it this week. It's the second such vote to be held there, with roughly 93 percent of the public voting no to a similar referendum on a banking repayment package in March of last year. Enough billions have already been committed to the banks here, in the name of the Irish people, without us having a direct say in the matter. It's now time for a referendum to determine the future solvency, and sovereignty, of this State.