Use Pension Reserve Fund to create jobs, not bail out banks

THE National Pension Reserve Fund should be used to stimulate Ireland’s economy and create jobs and not to bail out banks, Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has said.

The newly-elected TD was speaking on December 23^rd as Finance Minister Brian Lenihan went to the High Court in Dublin for approval to put a further €3.7billion of taxpayers’ money into Allied Irish Bank.

Deputy Doherty said:

When Sinn Féin proposed using the Pension Reserve Fund to stimulate the economy we were told it couldn’t be done. Now we see that the Government is only too willing to commit this money to the banks.

This is a further failure of the Government’s banking policy.

AIB and Bank of Ireland should have been nationalised long ago. This process can only increase the cost of eventual nationalisation.

This money should be used to stimulate the Irish economy and create jobs rather than being used to bail out banks.

If this had been done when Sinn Féin had suggested it, many people would be having a much happier Christmas and would be facing the New Year with much better prospects.

• TWO Irish Times journalists were barred from the High Court hearing itself despite the public interest involved in taxpayers' money being used for the bank bail-out. Read Simon Carswell's report here
• http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/1224/1224286235838.html