As we lurch towards the weekend and what finally appears like a new arrangement to deal with massive accumulated Greek debts, it’s perhaps worth reproducing a short letter to the editor of the Irish Times published yesterday and sent by a Dr Peadar Grant from Dundalk.

“The same commentators appear to defend Greece’s right to use legal measures to avoid repaying creditors, while simultaneously decrying the new owners of Clery’s the right to do so. Consistency would help.”

The good doctor has a point about the Greek State, as distinct from sections of its population, and a point about some commentators’ advocacy of the Greek State’s position.

There is no doubt that the two previous Greek bailout deals placed an enormous burden of debt on that country that it was unlikely to be able to pay even if it had implemented all the measures expected.

Those deals were brokered, as was our own, principally to protect various European banks from a Greek default at that stage.

Those who engineered those unworkable deals, the leaders and technocrats of the Eurozone’s largest countries, particularly Germany; the ECB and the IMF, have  been criticised sharply and validly for their failure to understand the impact their various austerity programmes would have on the Greek economy, and more particularly, the Greek people.

And there is no doubt that certain sectors of the Greek population, the old, the unemployed, the marginally employed have suffered severely, a factor which has to be taken into account in any new arrangement brokered this weekend.

Paying Athens 

That said, it seems much recent media commentary here in Ireland and across Europe, in support of the actions and stance of Syriza has been coloured by the understandable human plight of the hard-pressed Greeks we see on our television screens, as measured against the perceived arrogance, incompetence and inflexibility of unpopular politicians and faceless public administrators.

But Irish taxpayers have already contributed €350m in support of Greece and are likely to be asked for significantly more over the coming months in support of a third bailout deal.

Ireland and Greece

I suspect that if each Irish taxpayer was told how much he/she personally had contributed to date and was then asked whether, on balance, the Greek nation had done its best to ensure this money was repaid, the answer would be no.

I suspect that notwithstanding the hardship suffered by millions of pensioners in Greece, if Irish taxpayers were individually aware the Greek Government is still opposed to the staggered introduction of future State old-age pensions from age 68 they’d be furious. They, and all Irish citizens, have been living with this same pension reality for some time.

I suspect that if individual Irish taxpayers were more aware that Greece today is like Ireland a generation ago; a country where wealthy individuals and powerful corporations can still overly influence the political system; where full tax compliance is still a semi-voluntary activity and where many in society still seem to have a sneaking regard for getting away with things, even while their fellow citizens suffer, those Irish taxpayers would be demanding their money back.

Let’s hope both creditors and debtors sign up to a responsible and achievable deal over the coming days and weeks...But let’s also hope we see less idealistic championing of the Greek State as a pure and shining “David” in a battle against a monolithic, brutal “Goliath.”

We are all part of that Goliath and we have been short-changed to date by David.