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

Can I clarify one matter that Professor Ahearne dealt with in regard to Deputy Murphy. It comes back to that article on 14 September 2008 which I think was in the Sunday Independent. Professor Ahearne said:

The rumour mill concerning the health of Irish banks kicked into overdrive last week. Frankly, I find some of the more alarmist statements unhelpful. Still, banks must take their share of the blame for the heightened sense of uncertainty. The information that they have been releasing about the quality of their loan books does not always square with the anecdotes about potentially huge losses associated with land purchases and unsold developments.

Can Professor Ahearne expand upon this point? What is his assessment, if any, of the quality and reliability of the information contained in the published accounts of the Irish banks at this point and were there any indications that the Irish banks were insolvent at that time?