Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

No, although it is a pertinent question in these discussions. The ECB is the lender of last resort. As such, it has advanced substantial sums into the Irish banking system to ensure the system's stability. I do not want to anticipate the technical discussions, but the State is not being put in a position in these discussions of becoming a lender of last resort, since it is not a central bank. The issue that will be explored in these discussions is the very one identified by the Governor this morning, namely, whether a contingency fund can be established to demonstrate in terms of capital the robustness and indestructibility of the institutions. This is one of the issues that arises.

The questions of liquidity support and the funding of the banking system are also crucial in these discussions. As I have consistently stated since we first discussed this matter in the Oireachtas committee in March 2009-----

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