| Speaker takes the stage on Dame Street |
There is no question that Ireland has suffered more than its share of economic misery in the past two years and the large number of demonstrators who showed up on the weekend clearly reflect that.
The choice of the Central Bank building in Dame Street is particularly important it was Central Bank mismanagement that triggered the original crisis.
They appear to have had no clue that the economy was dramatically overheating and that the construction industry in particular was entering a massive bubble phase.
The fact that Anglo-Irish Bank was allowed to lend so recklessly and that other banks soon tried to emulate them in a cascading house of cards is at the core of the Irish financial scandal.
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The Central Bank proves itself utterly inadequate in its most important role overseeing and managing the economy , the bank regulator who was given the direct oversight was a complete joke and seemed to have no idea what was really going on in the Irish banking system.
Now the 'Occupy Dame Street' people are on their doorstep, laying the blame precisely where it should have been placed, but never was.
The Irish crisis is unbelievable in terms of the impact it has had on the country there.
Last year 40,000 people emigrated to the 4 corners of the world and a recent poll in The Irish Times indicated that 66 per cent of Irish people did not expect the emigrants to return in any major numbers.
One can only imagine the sadness in the many homes as families bid farewell to cherished sons and daughters as they experience how deep that wound of forced emigration is.
What is hardest to understand is how unnecessary it really is.
Economies like Canada and Australia did not founder because they had strict regulation of banks and competent oversight of the institutions.
Ireland had none of the above.
The protesters at Dame Street are sending a powerful message that is also timely.
A further €3.7 billion will be cut from the Irish economy and taxpayers pockets in the next few months. The hard pressed taxpayer is being squeezed like a dry lemon.
By pointing the finger of blame at those who allowed the financial Armageddon to occur, the Occupy Dame street people are doing the entire nation a service.
The Irish Times speaks to the protesters:
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