Anglo Irish Bank, Ireland’s most reckless commercial property lender, has at last been committed to the safety of an institution: the Irish government. Dublin procrastinated as Anglo Irish gasped its last, the chairman resigned over governance lapses and risks grew of a dangerous run on the bank. Full nationalisation fast became the only option to avert a collapse of the Irish banking system.

Ireland’s banks got carried away in the heady years of a property and consumer spending boom that is now a sickening memory. The economy could contract 4.5 per cent this year, unemployment is headed for 10 per cent and with the government deficit zooming towards 10 per cent of GDP, there is even talk of a rescue by the International Monetary Fund. The government has been flat-footed from the outset. In September, it tried to steal a march on other countries, by guaranteeing all bank deposits and funding, but did nothing to bolster its banks’ capital position, leaving them looking light when, shortly afterwards, the UK government sharply raised capital requirements for HBOS, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland.