The Workers Party has slated the new developments in the Anglo Irish / IBRC saga as both farce and tragedy, and shows the complete failure of the Irish government in negotiations with the ECB. 

Michael Finnegan, President of the Workers Party stated: “The reality is that none of this takes a single cent from the bank debt which the Irish people have been saddled with”.

He continued: “The spectacle of the Irish government running about like headless chickens reacting to the international news agencies and introducing a 59-page piece of legislation at midnight could only be described as high farce”.

“Furthermore the contracting of KPMG as the liquidators of the IBRC, in light of their role as auditors of the disgraced Irish Nationwide, can only be seen as beyond farcical, indeed as perverse”. “Sadly,” continued Mr Finnegan, “the impact of the legislation can only be described as a tragedy, indeed as a double tragedy.”

“In the most immediate term it is a tragedy for 800 workers who, overnight and at the stroke of a pen, have been made unemployed. It shows complete disregard for the basics of industrial relations by the government, and at its essence shows the lives of individuals are subservient to the demands of the money markets.  That a government which includes a major Labour Party element could treat workers in this way is reprehensible”

“On a national level the implications of this deal is a tragedy of major proportions. It demonstrates that the €30 billion Anglo promissory debt will not be repudiated in either the short or long term. We are re-establishing in law that the €30 billion bailout of international speculators and gamblers will be firmly placed for perpetuity on the shoulders of the Irish people.”

“It is now clear that whatever emerges from the ECB today, indeed in any deal emerges, it will not improve the lives of the Irish people one iota and will not alleviate the crippling austerity which is crippling our economy, killing the domestic economy, and fuelling massive unemployment and record emigration.”

Issued 7th February 2013