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

Sure. The interest rate on the official programme, the bailout, 5.8%, was that higher than the Government expected at the time? Certainly there was a letter from the Governor on 21 November when these issues were emerging and at that time he was stating that the interest rate looks like it would be higher than expected. The NTMA subsequently said 5.8% was not unreasonable. So to what extent was it a negotiable element of the programme? The IMF element appears to have been pretty fixed, the European side perhaps less so. So to what extent was there an actual negotiation on the interest rate?