Mr. Fergal O'Brien:

I might comment on some of the fiscal issues. The Deputy brought up the scale of the adjustment. He asked us to suggest the optimum split between expenditure and taxation measures. We think the adjustment should be €2.6 billion, as that would strike the right balance between easing back on the damage that will be done to the economy - we must accept that it will be a significantly contractionary budget - and making sure we hit the target comfortably and send the right signals to the market. It is difficult to strike that balance, touch all those bases and give confidence to the domestic economy. We are saying that €500 million of the €2.6 billion adjustment should be accounted for by taxation measures.