Mr. Marco Buti:

Almost all of the first order indicators were met - a high level of employment, strong growth and relative macroeconomic and monetary stability. The financial system did not show up, as I indicated before, as any particular disequilibria at the time. There was strong potential growth also. it is not because I do not want to say this was due to the European Commission or my DG but, prima facie, almost all those elements, to different degrees, were met.

If one scratches the surface and goes beyond that, then we see that the kind of growth model that we had at the time, not in Europe in general but in a number of countries, we can see Ireland's was, first and foremost, based on elements of non-sustainability which came to the fore when the crisis erupted.