THE DIRECTOR OF Public Prosecutions has defended the progress of the State’s inquiry into the affairs of Anglo Irish Bank, describing the circumstances as “unusual”.

Speaking at the National Prosecutors’ Conference in Dublin this morning, James Hamilton said investigations into the bank’s affairs in the time before its nationalisation had not yet been completed, with important witnesses still yet to give evidence.

Hamilton was keen to stress, RTÉ News reported, that the pace of the inquiry was not because of his office being under-resourced.

Another mitigating factor in the speed, he said, was that it was up to the DPP’s office alone – and not the judiciary – to decide which charges should be prosecuted.

Hamilton’s remarks were in reference to the criticisms of the High Court’s Justice Peter Kelly, who earlier this month refused to allow an extension into the Garda and Director of Corporate Enforcement probe of Anglo’s affairs.

Kelly remarked that the inquiries still had a long way to go, and wondered whether they would ever be completed.

Read more on the DPP’s comments at RTÉ News >