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

Mr. Cowen, on page 4 of the same document; there is a memo from the Department of Finance. It says:

The deterioration [of] Irish credit terms associated with the national fiscal position has been compounded by the additional contingent liabilities of ... €440bn under the bank guarantee scheme and the fact that deposits and access to international credit markets have not been stabilised as a result of the Guarantee is compounding the perception that the contingent liabilities could be realised through a bank default which would impact very severely on the State's financial system and creditworthiness.

Mr. Cowen, in this memo the Department of Finance appears to be putting forward the analysis that by March 2009 the guarantee decision is having a direct negative effect on the national fiscal position. Would you concur or not with the analysis at the time from the Department of Finance?