Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Professor FitzGerald has told the committee the ESRI did not conduct research in areas of banking or financial institutions, yet it came to conclusions that suggested the fundamentals were sound. I assume Professor FitzGerald would suggest that a properly functioning banking system is one fundamental of the economy. Can he explain to the committee why the ESRI came to such a conclusion in May 2008, given what was happening and what was known about at that time, such as the share prices in banks, investor confidence and what the markets were saying? Why did the ESRI reach such a strong conclusion?