Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is the final question. You were Minister for Finance for a number of years at this point. You were within a hair's breadth of entering into the Taoiseach's offices, which are the two most important constitutionally offices in this State. You give an impression to the committee, and it's just my impression - correct if it's wrong - that this was a very informal issue: "They spoke about the bank but I wasn't taking notes, I wasn't listening." Given the fact that there was an international financial crisis, given the fact that Anglo share prices had plunged dramatically just a couple of weeks earlier, given the fact that there was serious concern in relation to Irish banking, as Minister for Finance and as a future Taoiseach a couple of weeks later, should you not have engaged more thoroughly with the board of Anglo Irish Bank, which in your evidence, was the first time that you've actually met them than the way that you presented to the committee here today?