Mr. Brian Cowen:

Well, I saw it as ... I knew that there were discussions ongoing ... that they were aware of what we were trying to achieve within the European Union institutions ... certainly the Commission. And it seemed to me that the Central Bank was acting on the basis of it meeting ... it had ... saying it wasn't going to continue with liquidity assistancead infinitum. They were bringing that to our attention. Now, had they just rung the European Commission they'd know that we were working on and finalising a programme that would meet the requirements of ... our own requirements and their requirements in terms of working within the Stability and Growth Pact. If you're a member of a currency union, you have to work within the rules. And if you go outside the permitted deficit, you have to give an indication as to how you're going to get back within deficit otherwise - if everyone does their own thing and deficits just balloon - you undermine the credibility of the currency. So, you have to play by the rules. So the benefits you gain can sometimes mean that you have to also comply with the rules. And they're there for good reason, they're there for our benefit as well because I think we're in a better place now than we were at this time that were ... under discussion.