On the money over crash

DAN O’Brien’s article (‘It is a myth that our great recession can be blamed on foreign bankers– it was made here in Ireland’, Irish Independent, October 4) was so well put.

On the collapse of Lehman Brothers: O’Brien’s comment that Ireland would still have had a banking crisis, even if Lehmans had not failed, is so true. Many of our leading politicians at that time were spinning the view that the failure of Lehman caused our problems. Needless to say the same political leaders were diverting attention from their own failures and that of the State agencies responsible for keeping tabs on reckless

banking. In fact it would have been better for this country if Lehman had failed some years earlier, which might have curtailed the reckless lending of our financial institutions prior to 2008.

On the bank guarantee: O’Brien’s assertion that the European Central Bank did not force the Irish Government to guarantee the Irish banks is again correct.

This was done by our political masters to again cover up for their own failures and that of our State agencies.

The banking crisis did not just happen on the night of the guarantee. It happened over a number of years prior to 2008 as a result of easy credit with practically no controls in place.

O’Brien’s summation that “it is a myth that our great recession can be blamed on foreign bankers – it was made in

Ireland,” is on the money. Tom Kelly Merganstown, Co Wicklow