Mr. Gerry O'Regan:

If one were to look back, perhaps the great untold story which none of the journalistic outlets in Ireland got at the time relates to the problems being experienced by two of the banks here. However, one must recognise that the Central Bank, the IMF, the regulator and various powerful and influential people were essentially saying that matters were okay. There may well have been some journalists who had a whiff of unease with regard to what was happening at the time. There are many stories about which journalists have a whiff of unease but it is necessary to obtain the relevant facts and figures that will keep a publication out of the libel court. In the context of the entire economic collapse which took place in Ireland, that was the "Watergate story" and, unfortunately, no one in the media got it. I do not believe that was for the want of trying or effort. Perhaps some journalists who were good at financial analysis may have had a feeling but nobody could write about it.