Mr. Paul Gallagher:

Well the Government were aware and there was no misunderstanding that the whole interaction with the Department of Finance was premised on the basis the banks were the State's responsibility, and the Department of Finance and the Government were well aware of that, because that was the very clear position. So far as the consequences for the sovereign were concerned, that was a matter for the financial and economic experts in the NTMA to advise, the documents that I've seen recorded the realisation on the part of the Government that of course that had implications for the sovereign. Because, if you had to provide moneys to save the financial system, those moneys had to be either borrowed or raised and that had consequences.