Professor Patrick Honohan:

We could discuss an exact comparison. We have seen a large widening in spreads in Spain and Italy, countries that are not doing as well in the markets as Ireland is but which are more comparable with France and Germany. In Britain, spreads widened even more earlier on, but I have noticed in the past nine months or so that the spreads there have started decreasing. I expect to see spreads in Ireland decreasing due to competition as well.