Last week, the Irish people had to endure another session of nauseating back-slapping when the IMF chief, Christine Lagarde hailed them heroes as she was cheered on by her tea boys and girl, Enda, Brendan and Joan and her “good friend, Michael.”

The Irish people are not heroes, but victims of a corrupt banking system and of financial treason perpetrated by developers, speculators and a self-serving, uncaring political class. Debts were undemocratically foisted onto the shoulders of present and future generations.

Ms Lagarde should have been turned back at the airport. She is a financial ‘hit-man’ for the IMF and its cohorts, whose remit is the upward redistribution of wealth and the ‘theft’ (privatisation) of public assets, infrastructure and resources.

Instead of asking Joan Burton about the women of Irish society, Ms Lagarde (who does not pay tax on her €400,000 salary) should have vacated the luxurious surroundings of government buildings and walked amongst the people.

That experience would have given her food for thought before she jetted off to Davos (the international version of the Galway tent), where she was meeting up with the wealthiest people in the world.

Ms Lagarde’s position and that of Government, consists of shameful deceit and spin in convincing the Irish people that the banking debt is theirs.

The Irish people were betrayed and those in the golden circle were protected.

Christy Kelly

Templeglantine

Co Limerick