Professor Terrence McDonough:

Yes, specifically the deals that were struck around the question of wage moderation. Again I would emphasise that Irish wages did not stagnate like they did in the United States and to a certain extent in Britain. The wage moderation in exchange for eroding the tax base was a poor decision and it was a poor decision which I believe was reached collectively. There were tripartite negotiations between the representatives of the employers associations, the main union federations, and the Government. I think the Government, the employers, and the unions all participated in that decision and I think we have come to regret it.