As the euro sinks to its lowest point since December 2005 - analysts have been examining a recently published letter that ECB president, Mario Draghi sent to Irish MEP, Luke 'Ming' Flanagan.

In the letter, dated January 6th, Mr Draghi says that given the euro zone's weak economic outlook, and new data that suggests that the euro zone is due to continue its slump, the bank is willing to take serious action:

"Should it become necessary to further address risks of too prolonged a period of low inflation, the Governing Council is unanimous in its commitment to using additional unconventional instruments within its mandate. This may imply adjusting the size, pace and composition of the ECB’s measures. Such measures may entail the purchase of a variety of assets."

This has again fueled speculation that the bank is preparing a large scale stimulus package in the first quarter of 2015.

Bloomberg is reporting today that it has been told that ECB staff have presented proposals to policy-makers that include models for a quantitative easing (QE) programme that could commit as much as €500bn to buying investment-grade assets.

In late December, Mr Flanagan published what he called his "Christmas Stew" - six questions that he had tabled to the European Central Bank. They were posted on his Facebook page, and covered a number of issues.

The letters included the following titles: "Justification for the four-decade debt-slavery of the Irish people", "Necessity to destroy Irish Promissory Note debt" and "Price stability in the Irish property market".

The Governing Council of the ECB next meets on January 22nd.