David McWilliams in the Irish Independent on 8th January 2011 had an excellent piece on how he would save Ireland if he ever became Taoiseach. Here is a summary of his ten-step plan:
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Hold a referendum to confirm that the people wish to renounce the debts of Irish banks.
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Convert Ireland's bank debt problem into a euroland problem.
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Rescind the bank guarantee.
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Close Nama.
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Impose debt-for-equity swaps onto bank bondholders.
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Get the ECB to accept that it is unlikely to be ever repaid the €97 billion injected into the Irish banking system.
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In due course, convert the funds owing to the ECB into bank equity.
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Make domestic mortgages "non-recourse" and simplify the bankruptcy laws.
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Extend the vote to all Irish citizens no matter where they live.
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Draw on some of the $800 billion deposited in the IFSC to help rebuild a New Ireland.
These proposals co-incide with views expressed here, for example, close Nama, reject the bailout, terminate the bank guarantee and use debt-equity swaps to recapitalise the banks.