Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Regling was a director in the European Commission up to 2008 on the economic side. I refer to the Stability and Growth Pact construct.

Mr. Regling makes reference throughout the report to the fact that alarm bells should have gone off in terms of the increase in lending. He speaks about the systemic risk throughout the banks which it seems was important beyond reasonable doubt. He then argues that clearly the banks themselves should have known where they were trading cross-guarantees with different banks.

Does Mr. Regling believe that if the Irish Government had contacted the ECB on the night of the guarantee, there could have been a situation where Anglo Irish Bank would have been allowed to go into liquidation and to fail? Could a different construct have been used in terms of a guarantee that would have cost Ireland and the taxpayers less money?