Mr. Brian Cowen:

We engaged with the European Commission, as all member states do, about budgetary strategy but we came up with a solution with which the Irish Government were prepared to put a plan in place. If there were people ... and there were some, early on in discussions, who were saying, "The adjustment should be €8 billion in the first year." We did not accept that, we didn't see that as being the right thing to do.