Begg says his call to nationalise banks is Ictu position

SENIOR UNION official David Begg has said his call to nationalise the banks was the position of the trade union movement and had nothing to do with his membership of the board of directors at the Central Bank.

In a speech at the protest march in Dublin on Saturday, Mr Begg, who is general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), said he believed that, sooner rather than later, the whole Irish banking system would have to be nationalised.

“There is no other route to ensuring that we have an effective banking system in place, and we cannot put off that decision indefinitely.”

Reiterating his views yesterday on RTÉ radio’s This Week , he said Bank of America and Citigroup in the US were being nationalised.

“The problem of our own banking sector is that we can’t get money flowing into the economy, into the businesses that need it as their life’s blood in order to keep economic activity going.

“The difficulty with what the Government have been doing in trying to recapitalise the banks is that the banks’ first priority is to shore up their capital base and, in doing that, they are saving money.

“It is the direct opposite of a Keynesian approach where you want to try to put money into the economy to have it spent.”

He continued: “I guarantee you that within three months all of the Irish banks will be nationalised.”

The remarks gave rise to some initial concern in Government circles, but Mr Begg told The Irish Times he was simply expressing a view that the Ictu had formed. “It has nothing to do with my role in the Central Bank.”

The Ictu judgment was “based more on the experience of other countries than any assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of Irish banks”.

“The Central Bank and the Department of Finance wouldn’t be of that view. It’s completely a David Begg view.”

He pointed out that any move to nationalise the banks here would be “pretty exclusively a Government decision”, although he was sure the views of the governor of the Central Bank would be taken into account.

Mr Begg added that the Ictu position was “not at all informed by anything I have heard in the Central Bank”.

He doubted that his remarks would have any effect on the banks’ share prices, and the Government had made no contact with him about his comments.

Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton said his party opposed nationalisation. “It doesn’t equip the banks any better to deal with their problems.”

Nationalisation would mean “the State’s exposure would become greater”. Fine Gael favoured “a new, good bank” with “a clean balance sheet”.


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