Professor John FitzGerald:

I was just told about this last night and so have not checked the ESRI's records. However, I have checked my own records and refer to the period between 27 September and 2 October 1999.

On behalf of the United Nations climate change commission, I was in Warsaw to examine Polish compliance with the climate change protocols. I was telephoned by the director of the institute while I was in Warsaw to say that the Department of Finance had been jumping up and down about a particular article. I discussed it with the director and it seemed to me that the Department's comments were political and should be ignored. I checked this and note that the first set of chapters of the medium-term review were finalised, on my machine in any event, on 1 October 1999. Some time between then and 15 October, we published the medium-term review. Unfortunately, I was not able to check that date with the ESRI. The author changed the text to meet the Department of Finance's suggestions, or made some changes, and when I came back I discovered this had happened. We had put the thing to bed. However, what John McManus in his story did not realise was the role The Irish Timesplayed in this. A few days after we published on 15 October, all of the things that had been taken out were published in an article in The Irish Times. It was a very perceptive article on the serious mistakes that were possibly being made in separating the Financial Services Authority. The material found its way into the public domain and it should not have been taken out.

My memory of the discussion with the director and of the director's view was that the author had just left the institute. I was not in a position to talk to him when I came back from Warsaw and I had other things on my mind. That would be most unusual. On that medium-term review, we received a letter after publication from a senior official in a different public institution saying the ESRI had committed treason in it. I think the word used was "treason". That was because we had suggested that corporation tax should be raised from 12.5% to 15% or 17.5% between 2011 and 2015. The official asked that we withdraw the medium-term review. That is my memory. There was a much more normal Department of Finance reaction. The Department was copied on that correspondence and my memory is that the director told me it telephoned him to say, "Ignore that". It was not normal.

The Department of Finance comments appeared to me to be highly political and it would not be something normal. I outlined before how I would respond and it would be left to me to respond. It would not come from the director. It would be left to the authors. If the Department of Finance makes good points, I take them on board. It normally does. If it makes political points, I do not. It is the same with other bodies to whom we send the material as well.