Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay. So can you just square for us what you had been saying all day today, and what you have said to me just now, with an extract for example, from the quarter 4 2007 economic bulletin, where you talk about property and prices, you said "Developments in residential output and property prices this year indicate a move towards a more sustainable position." There's no hint there of an imminent collapse. You said "Prices have eased somewhat and the supply of new houses is also adjusting to meet new market conditions." You refer to:

... the underlying demand for housing in the economy [remaining] strong reflecting continuing income and employment growth. In addition, the performance of the rest of the construction sector should help to ease the impact of the adjustment in the housing sector [etc, etc].

And there is a lot more like that. There's no sense from that-----