John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

You seem ... you seem to indicate in your statement that for the period 2003 to 2008 the Department was reassured by the absence of any reference in the letters from Central Bank Governor to a slowdown in housing and a favour ... and by favourable assessments from international bodies such as the IMF. Professor Honohan, however, states that, and I'm quoting him here, "Even before the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 208, Irish residential property prices had been falling for more than 18 months and few observers expected their fall to end soon." Can you set out your Department's own assessment, if any, of the housing market at the time or did you rely primarily on the analysis of the Central Bank and other external bodies, such as the IMF?