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

Finally, Chair and Mr. Doyle, when this committee had an engagement with Jean-Claude Trichet in Kilmainham, he was very explicit that in the lead up to the guarantee, there was no message to Brian Lenihan, there was no message to Ireland, there was no message to the Government that "You shall save your banks and that no bank shall fail." And can I just ... you have given your own statement to us today on that issue. But again, can I just put to you what Mr. Kevin Cardiff submitted in his witness statement which starts on page 14. His recollection is that:

[B]efore the guarantee night, the Governor of the Central Bank, John Hurley reported three important points from Frankfurt, after discussions with the President of the ECB:1. There was no European approach to the financial crisis in preparation at that point.

2. The message from [Mr. Trichet] the President was that each Government should protect its own financial institutions and should not let them fail [and finally]

3. The ECB was not preparing any special intervention in relation to liquidity, including in relation to collateral.

That is a complete contradiction of what Mr. Trichet said to this committee in Kilmainham. Which is accurate?