Mr. Sebastian Barnes:

We have added stress scenarios for Government debt to the report this time. The reader has to work a bit harder to get to page 144 to see them. They are instructive because such a high level of debt is very sensitive to shocks. Ireland is very volatile. We can easily think of shocks that would mean the debt would either start decreasing or increasing. If it was on an upward trajectory, it would require more drastic policy action to cut spending or whatever is necessary to improve the budget balance. Those scenarios are hopefully helpful to people in understanding the risks associated with these high debt levels.