conditions. growth in the economy over the past couple of years, and particularly last year, was concentrated mainly in predominantly labour intensive sectors, namely construction and services, with a correspondingly weaker productivity performance. while the overall performance of the economy has been positive, the relatively unbalanced nature of growth in recent times is a concern, particularly the modest developments in productivity. specifically, in the latter half of the 1990s, average productivity growth in ireland was about 3¼ per cent per annum, whereas over the past two years productivity increases have been running at about 1 per cent annually. while increases in employment contribute to economic growth, it is important that a major effort is focused on improving trend productivity growth across the economy. the sector that traditionally delivers high productivity growth is the manufacturing sector, which grew by about 3 per cent last year compared with growth of just ½ per cent in 2004 and double - digit rates of growth in the late 1990s. since the 2001 downturn, the sector has been characterised by more modest growth rates. while a move to services activity is a feature of more mature economies, the weaker performance of the manufacturing sector reflects a deterioration in cost competitiveness in the economy and stronger international competition. the decline in competitiveness is evidenced by a disappointing export performance. in 2005, exports of goods and services grew by 1¾ per cent, whereas world trade grew by 7½ per cent, indicating a loss of market share. however, the latest trade data show some recovery in exports. turning to inflation, in 2005 the average increase in the harmonised index of consumer prices was 2. 2 per cent, the same as that recorded in the euro area. furthermore, inflation excluding energy prices was much weaker last year and well below 2 per cent. however, this has not continued. inflationary pressures have increased so far in 2006 due to higher energy prices and a pick up in services sector inflation. as a result, quite a significant gap has again emerged between irish and euro area inflation. this is a concern particularly in view of the fact that the price level is already high by international standards. it is likely that hicp inflation will average about 2¾ per cent this year, although much will depend on energy price developments. the recent increases in interest rates, as well as the resurgence in house prices, have contributed to a widening in the differential between the consumer price index and the hicp measures of inflation, as the former includes mortgage repayments. the cpi increased by 3. 9 per cent in the year

jean - claude trichet : interception of bank transfer data from the swift system by the us secret services statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, at the public hearing at the european parliament on the interception of bank transfer data from the swift system by the us secret services, brussels, 4 october 2006. * * * madame la presidente, monsieur le president, mesdames et messieurs les membres de la commission des libertes civiles, de la justice et des affaires interieures, mesdames et messieurs les membres de la commission des affaires economiques et monetaires, je suis ici aujourd ’ hui pour vous expliquer plus en detail le role de la bce dans la surveillance de swift apres que swift a repondu aux citations a comparaitre emises par le tresor americain en vertu de son programme de traque du financement du terrorisme ( terrorist finance tracking programme ). comme je l ’ ai deja explique dans ma lettre du 3 aout 2006 en reponse a m. le parlementaire klinz, la bce est membre du groupe de surveillance de swift ( swift ’ s co - operative oversight group - og ). par consequent, je voudrais, dans la premiere partie de ma declaration, preciser les objectifs et le mandat de ce groupe de surveillance. dans un deuxieme temps, j ’ exposerai les contraintes juridiques decoulant des statuts du systeme europeen de banques centrales et de la banque centrale europeenne dans ce domaine, y compris le regime de confidentialite en vigueur. a la suite de la declaration de m. praet, je serai a votre disposition pour repondre a toutes vos questions. 1. umfang der aufsichtstatigkeit zunachst einmal mochte ich darauf eingehen, was die aufsichtstatigkeiten der zentralbanken umfassen und wie dies im fall von swift in der praxis umgesetzt wird. wie ihnen bekannt sein durfte, sind die zahlungs