Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are two big sources of preparedness. I touched on the first one in the answer I gave to the Senator about a strengthened European architecture.

Of course, we have the European Stability Mechanism that has €500 billion. That did not exist when we went through our darkest nights. It was created during these crises. We have a €500 billion fund and the Single Supervisory Mechanism that has played a role recently in terms of the difficulties within Italian banks. None of that support was there the last time that we went through all of this. Those two factors will be a big part of how the Irish and European economies might respond to difficulties that could develop elsewhere.

In terms of our preparedness, we are better positioned than we have been in the past. A number of years ago I was in front of this committee when our deficit was nearly 10%. Our deficit this year is 0.2%. That vast journey is a key part of how we prepare ourselves. It is important to note that the change in bond yields for Italy that occurred over the past fortnight - we saw a very significant surge in a single day - did not happen to Ireland. That is an indicator of where we are. However, we can never take any of this for granted. I can say to the Senator that I believe we are well placed but we will always have to work to maintain that position.