Professor Gregory Connor:

Yes. I think Ireland was actually a strong economy and that was partly one of the reasons it received this capital bonanza. Ireland was a tiger economy. That was part of the reason this enormous capital bonanza came into Ireland. Ireland would have suffered, along with all other developed markets, from the Great Recession. It would not have suffered as much as the French and German economies from the 2008 US credit liquidity crisis because it did not own foreign bank assets. I think in fact the economic crisis is directly tied back to preventable actions and prudential banking regulation. I know that is a strong statement but I will make that claim.