Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In his opening statement, Professor FitzGerald stated he and his ESRI colleagues did not draw the connection between the growth of a property market bubble and the risks to the financial system and in the 2008 medium-term review, it failed to foresee the impending financial collapse. Given the ESRI’s level of expertise in the Irish economy, why does he believe the financial risks due to the commercial and residential property bubble were not factored into its forecasts?