Ireland's austerity measures: time to sort the banks out

The newspapers are full of promise of a bad Christmas today. Later this morning, economist Stephen Kinsella, will be guest blogging about the four year plan which is supposed to get Ireland back on the 'road to recovery. It hasn't convinced the international markets, but there seems to be consensus that if the banks could be sorted out, then the millstone may disappear from Ireland's neck. This morning's Irish Times has details of a government proposals for a second bad bank, to sit alongside the National Asset Management Agency, which is only handling property loans over €20m. Simon Carswell reports that this is being considered as part of the proposed restructuring of the banking sector that is being done ahead of the IMF bail out. It would merge the runt of the two worst nationalised banks, Anglo Irish and Nationwide and take "soured" loans from the other banks, freeing them up to get back to normal business. This, apparently, is similar to a restructuring that took place in Sweden in the 1990s. How much does Vincent Browne earn? Not a lot Elsewhere, addicts of Vincent Browne' s late night current affairs show were treated to an unusual revelation last night - that the attack dog of political press pack has net earnings of just €54,000. Browne casually volunteered this information after he was asked by a Fianna Fail politician. The question of default was back on the national agenda last night with author and economist Michael O'Sullivan telling Primetime viewers: Ireland has a relatively short economic history and perhaps we don't realise that defaulting on a debt is not as uncommon as some of our politicians would think. "Looking on a two, three, four year basis beyond 2013, default has to be an option. We have to begin to think the unthinkable because the state can't bear the burden of all this debt.