Martina Devlin: Don't let them tell you PTSB sale is a 'hurrah' moment - it's built on the pain and suffering of ordinary taxpayers

"Public dug deep to keep the bank afloat during the crisis, but once again the sacrifices of hard-pressed citizens pass without gratitude"

"A sense of injustice rises in a cloud above the sale of PTSB, a bank that would not exist today had taxpayers' money not given it the kiss of life."

"That €4bn used to keep the bank from expiring wasn't just gathering dust in the Exchequer's coffers."

"Back in 2011, it wasn't a toss-up between saving another of those mismanaged banks or building useful hospitals, schools or transport infrastructure."

Taxpayers provided €4bn to rescue PTSB during the financial crisis, preventing the bank's collapse. The bank's continued existence depends directly on that public funding rather than alternative public investments. Citizens made significant financial sacrifices that have gone largely unacknowledged. The sale of PTSB has generated a pronounced sense of injustice because the rescue was funded by ordinary taxpayers. The choice to allocate €4bn in 2011 prioritized stabilizing a mismanaged bank over investment in hospitals, schools and transport infrastructure.

Read at Independent