Mr. Dermot McCarthy:

Even then I wasn't aware of it. My recollection is that it was the Minister for Finance indicated that the bank representatives wanted to come in. It may have been already known to the Taoiseach that this was going to happen, but that was the first that I heard of it.

In terms of whether the Taoiseach had a predisposition, that wasn't my sense. I think he was reacting to the strong view from the Governor and the regulator that a firm, decisive intervention was required in the context of something which was now not just system-wide from an Irish point of view, but was rapidly becoming an international financial meltdown. So I think it was in that context that, if you like, his steering of the conversation probably headed in that direction.