Mr. Frank O'Connor:

Obviously, we interact continuously with investors. We do so physically on the road or, in more recent times, virtually. Of course investors are watching our debt metrics and the trend in our debt metrics. Understandably, Ireland had large deficits as it came out of the financial crisis. Our success in restoring our fiscal position - first the primary balance, so excluding interest costs, and then back to budget surplus - has worked well with investors. That can be seen in the demand we are seeing for our transactions and, of course, in the rate at which we can borrow.

To go back more than five years, the amount we were borrowing was closer to that of a country such as Spain but, as Ireland's fiscal position improved, the past five years have very much seen us borrow at rates similar to France and Belgium, what are called in the market semi-core countries. This has been evident this year, when we have been borrowing ten-year money at approximately 30 basis points.