Professor Alan Ahearne:

There is no simple answer to that. It is very complicated.

If, for example, the State could have put on to somebody else the €30 billion that was put into Anglo, let us say, by not including it in the guarantee, then clearly the national debt would have been lower by €30 billion. However, the €30 billion would have fallen on to depositors and bondholders and there would have been economic consequences from that. As to where that would have led us, it is difficult to say.