Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis

Nexus Phase

Mr. John Gormley:

That does actually ring a bell and ... but I ... let me ... it does ring a bell but I can't recall. I mean, we were ... I mean, you can compare it to the Greek situation, right. People say, you know, "We ought to have stood up to these people." Well, we did stand up, but there comes a time where you have to use, you know, your political smarts and know when you're beaten. We're a small island in the Atlantic. We don't have huge power or influence. We're up against the might of these people. So what are you to do under those circumstances? Well, we said, "The only thing that we can do is to go along with this as much as it sticks in our craw." And it did. And I think it was the right decision, Deputy, because if we had gone down the Greece route, well, you see what the consequences can be. And I do remember saying to people, "You know ... and people thought I was exaggerating at the time, "You know, we are in a very difficult situation here. If we don't get this right, the ATMs will close." And people thought this was a gross exaggeration. Well, you can see now that it wasn't. The ATMs could have closed and we could have had a very serious situation, so I think we made the right decision.

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