The learn nothing because they need never worry about facing personal consequences that are commensurate with the scale of their failures.

The Old Boys Network that is responsible for the economic collapse also controls politics and the law. *Real* accountability is exercised in board rooms and private meetings, far from the gaze of the great unwashed. We have a veneer of democratic accountability in our electoral system. But in reality it is little more than a changing of the guard every few years.

This is why we rely on the occasional pensioner or cement truck driver to provide us with some fleeting sense of the right thing being done.

Terrorist? Slight hyperbole there

in all fairness it’s us – through government we have chosen – who have no balls to say “no” to this practice…

O God I will get hanged for saying this LOL

Should the bankers not have the moral decency to not pay themselves these bonuses, after all it is the tax payers money they are using, without permission – is this not yet another crime ?

I know bankers and moral decency LOL

@Sue: be realistic, if your boss came invited you to his office and said “we would like to give you €1.5m bonus. Hm.. but then again, maybe we shouldn’t, after all we haven’t make money this year, so all this will be coming from that huge €100 billion we got, and frankly we’re wasting that too… what do you think?” would you really say “ah no, fair enough, it’s taxpayer money?”. Probably not. You probably would think “this money goes down the drain anyway, million or two won’t matter to taxpayer, and can change my life…”

Sorry I have morals and ethics, yes, I would walk away. And Millions would not make me happier, fullfilled or anything else that I value in life. If, I won the lotto a certain chairty would benefit, pay off my mortgage and the rest would be gone to be put to good use. I don’t see anything that millions would do for me that I would want.

Your comments are relentlessly negative and generally misdirected at the common man which in a time of a confidence crisis is much too easy a target. Considering the overwhelming ‘Oirishness’ of all your ‘likes’ and fan pages on your facebook page youre a plastic Paddy through and through and probably not even from here. Youre a fan of Jim Corr, ’nuff said, opinion void.

No born, bred and reared and still in Ireland. Young enough to have hope, not blind enough to see that we are being raped as a nation, not cynical enough to realize that if we get off our asses that we have a future.

Pointing out unpalatable truths is not about negativity, you can only face up to them and overcome by being aware of your situation. A positive attitude is a wonderful thing, in that it helps you overcome great adversity. Blind foolishness is when you deny the seriousness of a situation and call that “optimistic”.

theres a difference between facing up to reality and commenting under every article that irish people are “weak”, “lazy” and “unconfident”. it gets you easy thumbs up cause theres so much self-loathing being bandied about. i happen to be and be surrounded by people who dont fit any of these adjectives.

Go easy, if the young rise up they’ll be arrested and convicted. The politicians will brand them as anarchists for trying to claim back their country.

Hi Joanie, the photograph was taken outside an AIB branch after Keogh threw eggs at AIB’s then-chairman during its AGM in 2009.

It’s all about shares. Who has the most?