ICTU Urges Government Not To Repay Bondholders

Business & Finance - Economy

Wednesday, 02 November 2011 15:46

Written by Noel Cotter

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has added its voice to the calls for the Irish Government not to repay the $1billion or €700 million bond to the unsecured and unguaranteed senior Anglo-Irish ‘Bank’ bondholders, today.

Paul Sweeney, Chief Economist, said that now as the Greeks got a 50 per cent write down on all their debt, the moral obligation, on Ireland to repay all of this sum is greatly undermined.

"This is a private, not sovereign debt, run up by Irish private sector bankers. The Irish taxpayer gained nothing whatsoever from this loan. A billion dollars makes up a high proportion of Irish public spending in this time of unprecedented austerity".

"The ECB, worried primarily about bank solvency (and inflation), will be annoyed, but will not be able to do anything about any Government imitative on negotiation of this “debt”. The ECB stood by when these bondholders/banks were lending furiously to Ireland’s insolvent banks. This vast sum must be negotiating with a view to a massive write down", Sweeney said.