Given the day that’s in it, I was contemplating whether to do a funny story. But then I remembered the Irish Independent’s entry in the April Fool’s stakes from last year and figured I couldn’t beat it.
Brendan Keenan interviewing Brian Lenihan:
“With the banks playing for time, and the regulatory system discredited, we needed to establish an asset-relief programme like NAMA. That takes time to put into practice. It can’t be done overnight.”
He makes a point that tends to be overlooked in discussions of whether more should have been done sooner. It could not have been done 12 months ago, with the financial markets fretting over the scale of the budget deficit.
The country came close to not being able to borrow the money to keep it running. Attempting to cover the bank losses as well might have made that danger a reality.
At the time, however, I didn’t find it that funny.