Mr. Ed Mulhall:

In order to be accurate in terms of the period, we need to separate out the timeframe. One of the challenges faced by the inquiry is that when looking back, everything gets pulled together into one timeframe. The gap between the guarantee and the bailout and the troika was nearly two years. It is a long period of time. I will walk back into the timeframe I was asked to deal with, because it gives an answer to the Deputy's question.

I have mentioned in my statement the reaction to the "Liveline" programme just before the first guarantee, the €100,000 guarantee on deposits, which was in September. It is on the record in Deputy Murphy's brother's play, and I think it is in David Murphy's programme as well, that the Minister for Finance contacted the director general arising out of concerns about that "Liveline" programme and a worry about a run on the banks and that sort of pressure. The Minister also contacted me directly, which was unusual. Normally, my contact with politicians would be informal or through the press representatives. It was a very proper and in no way inappropriate contact. The contact was to do with concerns that a Northern Rock-type panic might ensue in the aftermath of that programme. I had a very formal conversation with him in which I said that we had reported on the six o'clock news that there were concerns about money leaving institutions on that day. We were accurate in our reporting because we had checked it. In fact, two correspondents were working on the story at the time. I said that it was not my role or RTE's role to assure the public that the banks were okay; that was the role of the Central Bank, the regulator or the Minister. I said that if one of those people wanted to come on air to make those assurances, if they were to make it in time for the nine o'clock news we would make sure that would happen. What happened was that the Financial Regulator came out to RTE and did an interview with George Lee, and that was broadcast on that evening's nine o'clock news. He subsequently appeared on "Prime Time" the following week.