Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate the funding model as Professor FitzGerald has outlined earlier. However, the organisation or the authors of its reports did go on to draw firm conclusions. For example, in the 2008 medium-term review, its authors wrote:

The fundamentals of the Irish economy are sound. Even if the immediate future may prove quite difficult, the resilience of the economy is such that, if properly managed, it is likely to return to healthy economic growth in the medium term.

That was published in May 2008. Can Professor FitzGerald explain to members what, in his view, were the fundamentals about which the ESRI was talking that were sound at that point?