Financial terrorism against citizens should have been the focus of presidential election

SIR, While Peter Casey was in full flight during the presidential election with his comments on Travellers, who make up less than one per cent of the population, he missed an opportunity to highlight the extensive financial terrorism that has been and still is being perpetrated against the citizens of this country by those in power over the last 10 years.

If he had done so, he would surely have been elected president.

As part of the bank bailout, this financial terrorism, in taxes and charges, has amounted to the equivalent of placing €15,000 of debt on every citizen of this country, young and old, due to the mismanagement of government and those in charge who were supposed to have been watching out for our welfare.

The effects of this financial terrorism will be felt by generations to come, while those responsible have escaped unscathed and not held to account, with many having been rewarded with exorbitant lump sum retirement packages and pensions.

It has resulted in the very many societal issues we are presently experiencing in many areas – in housing, education, health, long hospital waiting lists and in infrastructure.

This financial terrorism has also seen billions being lost in tax revenue, due to tax evasion loopholes set up for special groups. The banks, which we bailed out, are now exempt from paying tax on their massive profits for at least 20 years.

We have seen vulture fund investors, who were joyfully invited to this country by government, hoovering up properties at knock down prices, which were subsidised by the tax payer and are now paying little or no tax on their massive profits.

They are now controlling the rental market, with the result they are now holding those renting to ransom and have been threatening people, farmers and businesses with eviction. They are even selling back some of those properties, which we originally owned, to government at present day market value.

Along with the selling of NAMA properties at knock down prices, this financial terrorism has also extended to the selling of profitable national assets, the national lottery, Aer Lingus, and the eventual full sale of Allied Irish Bank.

We continue to see enormous and deliberate waste of finances in many areas of governance in this country, the list is endless.

There certainly are many unacceptable aspects in relation to the Travelling community, who make up less than one per cent of our population, but along with highlighting those issues, it is unfortunate that Peter Casey did not highlight the equally and more unacceptable activities of the elite one per cent at the top of society who control and dictate policy to benefit themselves, while the rest of us ninety nine per cent argue among ourselves over the crumbs that the one per cent at the top decide to give us, Sincerely Christy Kelly. Templeglantine, County Limerick