Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Our next item is a discussion with Dr. Donal Donovan. I welcome Dr. Donovan to the meeting for a discussion on issues relating to the international, EU and domestic policy context for the banking crisis in Ireland. He is very welcome to the inquiry. Dr. Donovan holds a BA from Trinity College, Dublin and a PhD from the University of British Columbia. He is a former International Monetary Fund staff member, having worked there for 28 years before retiring as deputy director in 2005. Dr. Donovan is currently adjunct professor at the University of Limerick and a visiting lecturer at Trinity College Dublin. He was a member of the investigation team that produced the report of the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland to the Minister for Finance on the Irish banking crisis in May 2010. A former member of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, Dr. Donovan has published a number of opinion pieces on the IMF-EU bailout in The Irish Times. He is co-author of the book The Fall of the Celtic Tiger: Ireland and the Euro Debt Crisis.

Before we begin, I advise the witness that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. Witnesses are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given. The committee is asking witnesses to refrain from discussing named individuals in this phase of the inquiry.

Members are reminded of the long-standing ruling of the Chair to the effect that members should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I invite Dr. Donovan to make his opening comments to the inquiry.