But we should keep in mind that the adjustment would have caused significantly more hardship in the absence of financial assistance. The programmes had to address excessive macroeconomic imbalances which had accumulated over several years in the run-up to the crisis, often reflecting misguided national economic policies. As we have said before: don’t blame the fire damage on the fire brigade.
Throughout the programmes in Ireland and elsewhere, the ECB has played the role assigned to it under the Treaty – to be the central bank for the euro area and to provide liquidity to financial institutions, including those in programme countries, when warranted.