Professor Patrick Honohan:

It was not being discussed formally at the governing council. Well, not there. But senior staff officials of the ECB were primarily concerned about the fiscal adjustment ... that they felt the fiscal adjustment needed to be accelerated to stabilise the debt profile and also, I think they also had in their idea the idea that the Irish Government might in some way take over the ELA from Anglo Irish Bank and do that through some, sort of, programme. So that was from September. You know, in the margins in, "I'd like to meet you about this." Leading up to those discussions that Mr. Cardiff has described in September and then the ECB came in October ... and then so, yes, those discussions were being held but I wouldn't call it pressure at that stage, not until 12 November, the Seoul, in the end of the Seoul meeting.