5 When the 2008–09 crisis hit the euro area, all these imbalances translated into higher public debt, either as a result of a sharp drop in revenues or the transformation of private debt into public debt. Just to remind you of a few figures, the Irish general government debt increased from 25% of GDP in 2007, to 97% at the end of 2010.
Even under the Governorships of my predecessors, the path of central banking has never been static… We evolve and adapt innovative ways of preserving financial stability as we deal with inter-related transactions, regionalization, globalization, the growing sophistication of interconnected markets, and developing technology.