The crisis faced by working people, the unemployed, students and pensioners in Ireland is a crisis of capitalism. While the crash in Ireland has had its own special features related to the property bubble and an historic over reliance on Foreign Direct Investment, this should not obscure the fact that capitalism, a system based on private ownership of key sections of the economy as well as economic activity being geared towards profit and not need and the absence of rational planning of resources, is a crisis prone system that has to be replaced.
Ann Orr writes about the increasing problem of mortgage defaults : In December 26,271 mortgage holders were behind in their mortgage re-payments due to the dramatic increase in unemployment. And Michael Murphy writes about the government's plans for another bank bailout.
Responding to the handing over of €715 million of tax payers money to senior unsecure bondholders Joe Higgins TD said
