Professor Patrick Honohan:

As they were not involved in the regulation thing, I did not regard them as a high priority. As the Senator will be aware, the report was prepared very speedily. I do not see that as a gap. I think the ECB should have been more closely involved with the problems of specific countries. I was quoted - presumably I said this - at a committee meeting several months ago as saying it is not caring about or focusing on Ireland. The ECB has tended to focus on the euro system as a whole. In the period in question, prior to the guarantee, I understand that rather than raise the problem of a particular country, one would ask about the effect on the euro area as a whole. It was not knowledgeable about or interfering with the Irish regulatory structure.