This solo contribution by Dr Leo Varadkar is the best solo effort I have read recently. It is a serious piece of work deserving serious consideration. It was published by the Sunday Business Post on 10 October 2010.
The issue of importance to me is the relative size of the Labour and Fine Gael in the next Dail.
I believe that Fine Gael’s bank policy and recovery jobs policy (Richard Bruton’s website) is clearly better worked out, safer, realistic and more likely to work. I would have acted to guarantee BoI and AIB on 30 september 2008 had I been forced to make the choice at that time and in those circumstances. I thought that Labour was simply wrong then and Nothing has changed my mind. Just read Professor Honohan’s report and make up yopur own mind.
Councillor Declan Flanagan, brother of Terence Flanagan TD, introduced and chaired a debate on jobs and NewEra the Fine Gael policy jobs and hope for the economy. Dr Leo Varadkar TD spoke very knowledgably on the economy and Bill Tormey spoke on why Ireland is in great difficulties because the government confused the private debt of the banks with the sovern debt of the people. The Varadkar website is a heavy hitter and he showed his grasp of the subject all night. It was good to see Des O’Malley the Ballymun socialist independent-Workers Party- Labour Party stalward and he has not mellowed a lot in the last 30 years that I have known him. Jim Kirby, Pere Flanagan, Noel Rock and others spoke. We cannot cut our way out of recession. That was agreed by all. There was a reasonable attendance which was heartening in the face of a warm, bright and mellow evening.
Richard Bruton, Leo Varadkar and George Lee want to invest our money in a good bank and let AIB and BoI liquidate their bad assets themselves without you and I paying real money to keep them going and misbehaving on a grand scale.
NO MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF AN IRISH BANK INVOLVED IN APPROVING THE MAD LOANS SHOULD REMAIN.