Dr. Donal Donovan:

It is very tough. Going from 11% to 7.5% in four years is not in my experience close to the draconian end of the spectrum. It is in the middle based on historical experience. Although people may feel it has been front-loaded, one can argue that it has not been that much. People have different views on whether it should have been more front-loaded or back-loaded. My personal view is that there are significant merits in many ways to front-loading. There are advantages in terms of being able to get things over and reducing uncertainty. Austerity would be over sooner under front-loading and it offers more confidence going forward and perhaps more flexibility.