The ECB is expected to try to boost inflation closer to its 2 percent target by launching a large-scale sovereign bond-buying programme at a meeting on Thursday, but some ECB board members have voiced reservations.

"It's obvious to everybody and there are no surprises that inflation is low, it's been brought even lower by the oil price decline and in prospect so this situation has persisted for quite some time," said Honohan, governor of the Irish Central Bank.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Conor Humphries)