Sir, – I am surprised at an experienced and thoughtful columnist like Fintan O’Toole has lowered himself to simplistic eurosceptism (Opinion, November 29th).
He surely knows that there is no such thing as “EU leaders”. The European Council representing the governments and the ECB are the ones mainly (mis)handling this crisis. The executive branch, the European Commission, which is accountable to the European Parliament, is being sidelined by the major governments. This is the major problem of democratic legitimacy as regards current economic governance.
If O’Toole wishes to be constructive, he should highlight the fact that any new treaty will need to redress this imbalance. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Fintan O’Toole calls for an end to the “charade” of Irish “support” for the euro (Opinion, November 29th). He does this on the basis that it is too expensive for Ireland.
In totting up the costs and benefits of the present crisis, however, O’Toole seems to have missed the benefit of keeping the holes in the wall open in the past year with billions of euro courtesy of the ECB.
O’Toole also blames the German banks for lending us the money while forgetting that it was the decisions of Irish people in government, banks, building etc who took the initiative to borrow the money in the first place.
Imagine what O’Toole and other commentators would have said if the German banks had refused to lend to Ireland over the past decade.
Supporting the euro is not a “charade”. It is in Ireland’s national interest.
Holding up our hand, acknowledging our past mistakes and being responsible for them, while expensive, is also in our national interest.
Any other policy would be even more expensive. – Yours, etc,