The Government had little alternative  BIS Review 119/2010  1  to announcing an extensive guarantee of bank liabilities.
This has proved not to be costless, and is imposing a net cost which will place a heavy burden on taxpayers and the users of public services in Ireland for several years – though, as I have repeatedly stated since the broad magnitudes became clearer in March of this year, it is manageable from the point of view of the national public finances and a good deal less than some alarmist commentary had suggested.