Bruton Says Irish Taxpayers Shouldn’t Bear Full Bank Costs
February 26, 2011, 6:53 PM ESTBy Finbarr Flynn
Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Richard Bruton, a lawmaker in Ireland’s Fine Gael party, said taxpayers can’t be expected to shoulder all of the cost if stress tests next month reveal further capital needs in the country’s banks.
“We have to see the stress tests,” Bruton, whose party is likely to lead Ireland’s next government, said in an interview in Dublin today. “If that unearths fears of further holes in the banks, the credibility of expecting the taxpayer to shoulder all the burden,” is something that “many would regard as unsustainable.”
Fine Gael won 36.1 percent of first-preference votes in an election yesterday, according to a poll carried out for Dublin- based broadcaster RTE. Labour drew 20.5 percent support. Fine Gael is unlikely to win a majority in the parliament, and Bruton indicated he favors a coalition with Labour because it may be more stable than forming a government with the backing of independent lawmakers.
“The difficulty of a government made up with independents is that there tends to be ‘high noon’ negotiations every other week,” said Bruton, who was re-elected to the parliament. “A bigger number gives stability.”
--Editors: Fergal O’Brien, Simone Meier
To contact the reporter on this story: Finbarr Flynn in Dublin at fflynn3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Colin Keatinge at ckeatinge@bloomberg.net
