Workers Solidarity Movement

  AFRI calls for Ireland to default on banks debt. Development group asks "why should ordinary Irish citizens now pick up that tab?"

Andy Storey, AFRI chairman, is highly critical of the IMF intervention. He urged that the lessons of the IMFs behaviour in the other countries be learned.  The IMFs intervention had left increased poverty , social inequality and reduced spending on education and health. He gave the example of Argentina as a country that had rejected the IMF after a deep crisis and had a sustained recovery afterwards.

The debt incurred by the Irish banking system is not the responsibility of Irish people and the government is acting as a debt collector for foreign banks with the Irish people being made pay these debts.  AFRI also suggested that the IMF deal had "foreclosed on Irelands democracy" and locked Ireland into a fixed economic policy without room for manoeuvre. 

Any Storey said that "Irish people need to insist that they can't pay, won't pay and shouldn't pay. This should be our new years resolution".

WORDS: James McBarron