Madam, - The powerful American billionaire Martha Stewart was recently sentenced to five months' imprisonment for lying to government investigators about alleged insider trading in late 2001. From crime to jail sentence took less than three years.
Compare this with our latest banking scandal. The National Irish Bank investigation took more than six years. Bank personnel lied to and obstructed government investigators for at least a year. The bank was found to have stolen from its customers and the State. If prosecutions are taken - and judging from past experience this is highly unlikely - it will be many more years before justice is seen to be done.
It is also depressing to note that our so-called financial regulatory authorities have never, in their entire history, exposed wrongdoing in the Irish financial sector. Even the much lauded Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) did not go public with the recent AIB scandal until a whistle-blower also informed RTÉ's Charlie Bird.
Nor is there any reason to feel confident that the culture of corruption in the banking sector is being taken seriously by politicians. Legislators have allowed only a maximum fine of €5 million to be imposed for any future breaches of regulations. A typical Irish bank would consider such a fine as a minor blip in its petty cash account. The future is indeed bleak. - Yours etc.,
ANTHONY SHERIDAN, Carraig Eoin, Cobh, Co Cork.
Madam, - What exactly does Mary Harney find deeply disturbing about the NIB report? She has been in governments of one form or another since 1987, with the odd period in opposition. Is she seriously expecting us to believe that in all that time she had no idea about these scams? In all that time the precious PDs never developed a single policy to ensure fair and accountable regulatory powers for the State.
Everyone knows Ireland is top of all leagues when it comes to scams. It's how things get done in Ireland - it's always been who you know, not what you know. We all know what happens to the many hard-working people who do play by the rules and pay their dues - they go out of business. This is no great revelation. There is no need for Mary Harney to reach for the smelling salts just yet.
If Mary Harney and the likes of Pat Rabbitte or Richard Bruton are to be taken seriously, they need to show some backbone. Neither Labour or Fine Gael has a proper policy to ensure that the correct regulatory powers are available to punish the likes of NIB, AIB and whoever is next to be found out in such a manner that similar scams are just not a viable option. In the context of the profits made from these scams the paltry fines possible are well worth the risk.
Is it any wonder such practices flourish in a country where politicians are given unlimited expenses on the production of a "receipt" and allowed to draw numerous pensions while they are still working?
What will impress me is when I see any political party in Ireland publishing exact policies on how to remove the rot from the body politic first, and then begin removing it from the business sector. - Yours, etc.,
DESMOND FITZGERALD, Havannah Street, London E14.
Madam, - Would be possible to ban the use of the word "culture" in the same sentence as "tax evasion", "fraud" and "overcharging" when referring to recent banking scandals? I am sickened by the banks' attempts to avoid guilt by blaming the "culture" of the time - as if they sat down, took a good look at society and decided we were a nation of shady dealers, tax avoiders and ethically bankrupt citizens and our noble bankers only wanted to help them fulfil their potential.
Now we are being told that the "culture" has changed so we can all go about our business in the knowledge that all is right with the banking world. This is simply not good enough. If my car is clamped, can I argue that in my neck of the woods there is a "culture" of illegal parking, and of course I'm very sorry and it won't happen again and could I have my fine back now, please sir?
There have to be serious consequences for everyone involved in these banking scams. They stole money from the State and its citizens. Their lack of civic responsibility was partly responsible for the lack of investment in health, education and industry in the 1980s. They are just as guilty, if not more so, as the petty thief who grabs a purse or robs a till. Until they are made to face up to their deeds, we may as well accept that, for now, "culture" will mean dishonesty, corruption and shame. - Yours, etc.,
LOUISE CURTIN, Cabra, Dublin 7.
Madam, - Let's try to put the whole sorry mess in context: this is just another strain of the original and still highly virulent CJH disease. When a holder of the highest office in the country has been shown to be so corrupt we must expect the contagion to continue for a very long time.
The call for prosecutions, possibly resulting in jail sentences, for some of those in NIB seems a little hollow when one looks at our pathetic attempts to remove corruption from the body politic. The spider at the centre of the web declared himself too ill to testify at a time when he was lording it with the yachting fraternity in La Rochelle. The various Haughey clones are all wriggling furiously; they may well emulate their creator's success and wriggle free. - Yours, etc.,
VINCENT MacCARTHY. Woodside, Cloncat, Co Meath.