Mr. Bertie Ahern:

-----my view then was that if I was keeping public expenditure at effectively the lowest of not only the EU countries but certainly far lower than the OECD's countries because it was that chart and we were lower in GNP terms and GDP; I think only Estonia were lower. I felt that we were safe enough, that we were taking, as I said in my statement, a conservative view. I did not see that as a dangerous view.

I did ... I've the different view on the level ... in the level of indebtedness, I'd a different view on that. If you ask me what my view now is, it ... I probably would have battened down the hatches in 1997 and said no to everything, so, therefore, we would have had such a big surplus we would have been like Germany, we would have been able to take the whole hit. But, I'm afraid, Chairman, I wasn't blessed with that view any time while I was in office.