Brian Lenihan in 2009 - bailout will not cost €35 billion

In this interview on TV3 from 2 July 2009, Brian Lenihan says that "it is not being suggested by anybody that the taxpayer has to make up a loss of €35bn [in relation to the banking bailout]". He says: "It would be serious if we did." Lenihan also says that "Nama in itself could end up as a profit for the taxpayer in time". Of Anglo Irish Bank he said it was "difficult to see us getting a return for our investment". 

To date, roughly €24bn is estimated to have been received by Anglo. Today Brian Lenihan announced that €29.3bn in total will be spent in winding the bank down, with a worst case scenario of €34bn. This money will never be retrieved 

Below, a second recording from Primetime this night two years ago, the week the Irish government gave a blanket guarantee on all deposits in Irish banks. On the programme, UCD economist Morgan Kelly calls the banks' bluff that they faced only a liquidity problem and not an insolvency problem. He advised swift and decisive action on the banks, similar to Sweden's handling of the crisis when its property bubble burst.  

Brian Lenihan on Nightly News, 2 July, 2009

{flv width="500"}Brian Lenihan on Nightly News July 2009{/flv}

Primetime,30 Sept 2008, the week of the bank guarantee