Mr. Dargan Fitzgerald:

Well, perhaps I can lead off and just say I think your comments, which absolutely, in me personally, provoked the reaction that as we previously mentioned, the effects of the financial crisis have been, I would say, cataclysmic and there is no attempt, Deputy, to underplay, in any of my, and I think our, testimony those effects. I mean, they are fully appreciated and I think some of ... some of the comments I've made in terms of improvements to auditing practice since the financial crisis began I hope go some way to improving the situation going forward but I am cognisant that they are only small steps and ... and that greater steps must be taken in a whole plethora of different arenas such as regulation generally, governance generally and so on.

I think your comments highlight the precipitous fall in certain markets, particularly for property assets, in a very short number of years, and I just would reflect on the fact that, in the 2007 report to the audit committee, we wrote then specifically highlighting that the credit loss provisioning represents one of the most significant challenges for banks and building societies in complying with the requirements of International Accounting Standard 39. So, I just would highlight, I think in our ... certainly in my own case, I can say, I think the audit team was alert to the possibility of financial reporting being under stress and strain but I think that it's important to remember the respective roles of the various participants in the crisis.