Dr. Donal Donovan:

The wording is quite important. One should be careful not to infer, perhaps, things that I would not have said or meant. "This cautious stance by the IMF may have been due to several factors...". I did not say crying wolf was a major issue nor do I wish to imply that I know anything about the thinking of the IMF staff or their relations with Ireland, because I do not. However, I am speculating - it is a reasonable thing to speculate on - that this may have been due to a number of factors. It is reasonable to suppose that if a person says every year that there is going to be a house price fall and it does not happen, then people will decide that he or she is saying the same thing again and it is boring and repetitive. I also surmise - I think this is stated in the Honohan report as well as our book - that the same fear or issue may have been present in the case of the Central Bank of Ireland. Again, that is only speculation.