Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

That is a crucial question, but I am in possession and I want to complete the point. However, I agree with Deputy O'Donnell on that.

Deputy Burton then made an interesting speech which touched on the economy generally. Of course she is correct to state psychology is crucial here, but to generate the consumer confidence to spend she seeks is not simply a matter of Government intervention or Government stimulus. It is interesting that the hoarding of money by customers who can save began before any retrenchment measures in the autumn of 2008. The period where it started was in the summer of 2008, when depositors started increasing the size of their deposits quite dramatically and curtailing their expenditure.

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