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THOUGH MUCH CRITICISED in recent months, the banking inquiry is due to issue its final report into Ireland’s economic crash early next year.
Originally due to report in November, the inquiry’s progress has been delayed by whistleblower allegations that proved to be entirely unfounded following an inquiry by a senior counsel.
Chairman Ciarán Lynch said this week that in light of the delay the committee would seek an extension until 28 January to publish its final report. This is likely to add to the €5 million cost of the inquiry so far.
But the millions of euro, hundreds of hours, 128 witnesses over 49 days, and retrieval of 50,000 documents amounting to hundreds of thousands of pages could all be for nothing if an election is called prior to the publication of the final report.
Under the Inquiries Act the committee will be formally “terminated” once the Dáil is dissolved, a situation which arises if and when Taoiseach Enda Kenny decides to call a general election.
If Kenny goes to the country after the October Budget – as some speculate he could – the inquiry would be unable to issue a final report.
It’s understood the inquiry has taken legal advice on the circumstances in which it could complete its work in the new Dáil.
Doing so would require all of its members to be re-elected to the Dáil and Seanad and for the committee to be reconstituted by the next government, a source explained.
“It depends on the membership of the committee and whether they all get back in, and then you have to wait for government to be formed, then you have to wait for the Seanad elections,” the source said.
However this would be impossible given Socialist TD Joe Higgins has already indicated his intention to retire at the next election. While Lynch, a Labour TD, is among those inquiry members who are facing an uphill battle to retain their Dáil seats.
In effect the inquiry’s entire status hinges on an election NOT being held until early next year and after it issues its final report.
Meanwhile, following the completion of public hearings this week, the committee members and inquiry staff will now begin to compile its final report and recommendations.
This process will involve a trawl through hundreds of hours of transcripts from the public hearings and members of the inquiry inputting their own views and recommendations into what will be the final report.
Witnesses who came before the inquiry in recent months may also be written to for clarifications regarding their evidence.
This correspondence is likely to include Enda Kenny being contacted in relation to evidence from former Anglo executive Matt Moran which appeared to contradict what the Taoiseach told the inquiry about contact between the pair in January 2009.
Some members have stressed that the final report should not echo those already published in relation to the banking crisis.
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Monty Python meets Father Ted.
The inquisition it should be called
Or they could work harder to get report done.. even weekends and evenings (omg). Oh my goodness a deadline.. we have to meet.. whatever will we public servants do?
And turn 5 million into 500,000 , very unlikely they have earned that bonus!!
I would suggest that the enquiry is irrelevant as it stand. As far as I’m concerned if no one going to face Jail as a direct result of the evidence heard at the enquiry it was a complete waste of time but more importantly money.
We knew that from the start. But the opposition thought in their wisdom that we had to have an Enquiry.
Actually it was Enda and his mates who wanted this enquiry but don’t let the facts again in the way……
They resisted, but the clamour for the opposite benches eventually overcame them.
Unfounded whistleblower allegations costs 5,000,000 euros from the public purse, Whoever dreamed up that blag is having a good laugh at the dopey tax payers.
Spot on OTV. Populist rubbish.
Enda and Noonan are cowards but above all they are traitors who mislead the Dáil and sold Ireland down the river.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/gene-kerrigan/the-night-we-were-all-mugged-for-8bn-31522660.html
Al – from your article “rumours emerged about what happened. Jean Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, it was said, had threatened Noonan.
In a phone call, it was said, he threatened that an economic bomb would go off in Dublin if the Government dared force bondholders to bear the consequences of their own failed gamble.”
So Gene Kerrigan speculates about ‘rumours emerged’ and ‘it was said’?
No evidence, no record, no quotes from anyone … just rumours and here-say.
In that case I heard a rumour that Gene Kerrigan just made it up, it was said.
My further intrepid googling shows Noonan has admitted the quote.
Gene Kerrigan exhonerated.
What do you expect from the same traitors???
Let’s have a GE now…. the banking enquiry is not going to tell us anything we don’t already know. It is completely dispensable.
The entire thing is a bit of a farce. Designed to finish off FF who were left for dead after GE 2011, it back fired. Cynical lack of questioning of the Taoiseach Enda Kenny about what he knew about Anglo (Anglo tapes, evidence of other. Castlebar is not a huge place and all politics is local.) and what he did with this knowledge if anything. He was not asked these simple questions, was he? Many are sick to death of the McNulty and Fennelly type approach of the Taoiseach. Moriarty too is delayed yet somehow there is no delay going after others. We hear on radio on regular basis that those who go through court on regular basis have no fear of prison yet there is a serious charge made against public representatives based not on Garda observation on the day but it seems as a sort of after thought based on Tanaiste complaint. So no surprises at more waste of money on another failed political move. Irish Water is testimony to fact Kenny will throw good money after bad while thousands are homeless! Makes me sick!
FG knew the Banking Enquiry would be the waste of time that it is, delaying proper justice in a court of law and resisted it.
However Sinn Fein were the ones screaming for it. Totally ignorant that it would just be doing the guilty a favour by buying them a lot of time while TDs grandstanded and looked like they were somehow ‘doing something’.
Cancel the Enquiry now and get on with the court cases.
otv, how long is it now since the crash? we are only concluding the inquiry, ask yourself who set the terms of reference that would cause the delays?
ps. I do not remember Kenny or noonan admitting when they had their moment in the sun at the inquiry that triochet rang to ensure the non guaranteed bondholders were not burned, but I suppose they were never asked
unfortunately they had to tell the truth Ciaran, not fulfill your desired narrative.
telling the truth? I do not remember Kenny admitting knowing about a phone call from the ecb
noonan admits in sep 2015 only after he is asked specifically ie no wriggle room, what happened to land Ireland inc with such odious debt’s on his watch
the inquiry was supposed to dove tail into the elections with bad pr for ff arising from it, all I see is fg hiding the truth until the last minute. when the time comes to cover themselves in glory, it turns out they are worse then ff as they had time to sort out the mess, they knew the vast amount of monies involved yet did nothing to help the situation except make private debt soverign debt
Nobody cares as it was a political dance show, however the real nugget of info we found out is just what a snivelling little yellow bellied junior school teachers (sorry) noonan and Kenny really are, they knew all along we were being mugged as a nation, they let it happen rather and said nothing rather than acting in the nations interest and doing something about it. seismic shift ?? in their bowls more like
Its great how our goverment are so good at dodging justice that should be handed down to them.. More wastage of our taxes again by the looks of it…
The present cabinet should all be arrested and charged with derelection of duty towards the nation.
Even though there’s no such thing other than in the mind of the bewildered?
And they’re up early today!
This should have been an investigation by the Garda Fraud Squad and not an Inquiry by experts in pothole filling.
Inquiries like this one are always rolled out in an effort to delay and run down the clock on white collar crime and to cover inept political muppets.
And like all the other enquiries and tribunals, the outcome won’t be acted upon. The best information that can be garnered from this now would be the identity of the anonymous whistleblower who made unfounded allegations that cost the tax payers 5,000,000 euros, they used this enquiry process to blag that money while the going was good, they should be held accountable.
is there any conversation, ever, with Enda Kenny that isn’t at odds with the other party’s version of events. Under sworn evidence or not. how can we knowingly vote to have such a person run our country and expect transparency. (another thing he promised us). Or is he denying that now also. You get what you deserve I suppose. #foolmeonce….
Enda’s mutterings being contacted by someone else – again. There’s a pattern beginning to appear with him…..
*contradict
The Banking Enquiry was always going to be a waste of time.
If anything it has served the potentially guilty very well by further delaying the court cases against them while the totally unqualified TDs continue to ask their inane questions and drag the whole thing on and on and on, to the pleasure of hearing their own voice.
Cancel the Enquiry and let the court cases move forward immediately.
Biggest waste of time and money in the history of the state.
7 years on and not one senior figure from the Banking Sector, Government or Financial Regulation has had to account for the collapse of the Country’s Economy.
This enquiry was never anything other than a publicity stunt for the FG/Lab to finally bury FF.
Coercion also renders contracts void.
What the inquiry has disclosed is that Brian Lenihan was coerced.
We should be looking at the legality of the consequences of this instead of trying to justify and unlawful transfer of debt to the sovereign state.
This is a pure joke. Will all the pac politicians hand back the fees they earned so to recoup some of the 5 million plus wasted on this shambles. They should be made do so.
what was it about anyways another enquiry which leads to f##king nothing , #tag Do the Crime never Do The Time If It’s White Collar Crime
It should be made into a comedy should get the money back in no time, a total waste of time.The TDS trying to ask questions and Chairman telling them you can’t ask that its breaching something or other .They should put all the inquiries together and run a comedy show it would be the best selling show all over the world and would go on for years
am I mistaken but us this why an independent body is better?
is it me or do you the people of Ireland think this is a load of craps.we lived true it. we know what happened the government is going to do nothing about it. maybe use it for votes in the election.?
Too many “click bait” headlines on the journal….
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