Irish Banking Crisis

The one thing to be said for the Irish Banking crisis is that it puts our troubles into perspective. The Irish taxpayer support for the banks in Ireland amounts to a staggering 30 per cent of GDP; The UK’s is 6 per cent of GDP. (Can’t find out what Spain’s is : which is a bit worrying!)

The low interest rates, set by the European central bank and designed for the needs of the big European economies (i.e Germany), provided the funds for the Irish property market, which has since collapsed.

Granted, Britain is outside the euro, and we can set interest rates for the needs of our own economy. It will be some time before we join the Euro, providing the Euro survives.