There is fresh speculation that communication between then European Central Bank president Jean Claude Trichet and former finance minister Brian Lenihan in the run up to Ireland’s bailout in November 2010 will be published.

The key issue here is the extent of pressure which the ECB was putting on Ireland and whether this went beyond its proper role as a central bank.

There were a series of letters from the ECB to Ireland during that November, some of which were previously reported on in the Irish Times. The letter in question appears to be one sent on November 19th, the existence of which was revealed in response to Freedom of Information requests by Irish journalists, but the contents of which have never been published.

Subsequent appeals to the ECB by journalist Gavin Sheridan were also turned down, but it seems that the bank may now be reconsidering.

The ECB was a central player in pushing Ireland towards accepting a formal bailout. It had extended billions to the Irish banking system in funding – including special emergency funding – and wanted a greater say in how things were being run here as a result.

It is unclear how influential the particular letter in question was in this process. By the 19th, Ireland’s Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan had already made his famous appearance on Morning Ireland, saying that Ireland was heading for a bailout. Two days after the letter, Brian Lenihan made the formal application.

So the letter of the 19th was presumably designed to finally push Ireland over the line; it will be interesting to see the language used. The indications have been that Trichet urged the Irish government to take decisive actions – but did it hint that not doing so would mean that ECB support for our banks would be removed?

There are also questions about earlier contacts, including discussions between Lenihan and Trichet the previous weekend and particularly on November 12th, the Friday before the key weekend leading up to an EU finance ministers’ meeting.

The ECB letter may or may not take up much further in our understanding of what happened. It is unclear whether the bank’s objection to releasing it was based on its contents, or a fear of what precedent would be set.

It looks like we might know soon enough.