THE air in Ireland is filled with talk of “sovereignty and independence” being supplanted by dictat by outside bodies. On the margins of the G20 summit, Germany, France and Britain met and discussed what must be done about this “most distressful country,” and they laid out plans for our future without us having any say.

If this talk about “sovereignty and independence” is not more hot air, why hasn’t the Irish government convened an emergency meeting of the Greek, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian governments to present a united front and shared demands that really “shares the pain” with all our euro “partners,” just as the Germans, British and French have come together to make us pay?  Is it not a case what is sauce for goose is also sauce for the gander?

All the politicians and commentators state the future of the euro is connected to and dependent upon what we as a people are prepared to accept in savage cuts and an unpayable debt burden. 

The British, French and German banks have a lot to lose -- these are the creditors we are guaranteeing. They have some influence with the European Central Bank.

Eugene McCartan
Dublin, Ireland