Mr. Dermot McCarthy:

Well, the rationale was that the ... the need to, if you like, address and correct market concerns about the ... the fiscal situation and to, in a sense, improve the credibility of the sovereign required a bold move, so to speak, in terms of a firm shift in the trajectory to a sustainable balance. So, I think that was their ... their concern. On the Irish side, there was a view that there certainly needed to be credibility about the achievement of the required reduction in the deficit but that that pace of adjustment would cause economic and social dislocation beyond the benefits which it would create.

So ... and in the end, there was agreement on a figure of €6 billion, which seemed to be a balanced assessment.