In effect, this dealt with the tail risk issue in relation to the banks and, allied to the plans outlined for fiscal consolidation in coming years, was a huge step forward in convincing markets that there was now a more certain upper limit to Ireland’s debt problem.
The responsibility for ensuring that infrastructures and arrangements meet the needs and preferences of end-users and intermediaries lies primarily with private market forces. Nonetheless, the authorities’ role is of the utmost importance: to ensure infrastructures’ safe and sound operation, to counter competitive distortions and market failures, to promote growth-enhancing innovation and to provide public goods.