The European Central Bank would be ready to act if inflation expectations in the euro zone changed, ECB Governing Council member John Hurley said on Wednesday. Hurley, who is Ireland's central bank governor, also said that an international debate had begun into whether central banks should have specific powers to intervene directly in financial markets, including setting capital ratios. "A further area for discussion is how monetary policy might better respond to asset price developments," he said in a speech to a parliamentary committee. "For example, should policy 'lean against the wind' by tackling asset price inflation more directly?" Hurley also said the Irish economy would only achieve its strong growth potential in a few years if painful cutbacks were made to the public finances.