Mr. Pádraig Dalton:

The best way to answer that question is to talk through the process.

We compile our national accounts data, based on hard facts provided to us by our respondents. We also use a broad range of additional data sources. The CSO is uniquely placed, not just in Ireland but across Europe, in that it has access to as broad a range of data as anybody can have when compiling national accounts. We compile the data in accordance with the standards. It is important to recognise there is no Irish, UK or French version of gross domestic product or gross national product. There is only one standard. We are legally bound to compile these figures in compliance with that standard. We did that. We knew the publication of these figures was going to create a reaction. We did the right thing in what we knew were going to be difficult circumstances. This is one of the strengths of the CSO, namely our independence, objectivity and integrity for data.

What is very important to recognise is that the accuracy of the data has not been questioned by anyone. The figures were verified by EUROSTAT. The IMF, the UN and the OECD have not questioned the accuracy of the data. Instead, they have all spoken about how the publication of the figures in Ireland this year provided the basis for a conversation which had been going on for years around how does one deal meaningfully with globalisation in a national accounts perspective. This had been happening in a conceptual way up until this year. Our publication this year has moved the conversation into the real world.

The most important thing for us is that the figures we compile are accurate, independent and objective.