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Bertie and Enda to be quizzed about banking collapse

Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in Irish politics right now…

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Everyone’s talking about…

The banking inquiry finalised its list of witnesses at a private meeting yesterday.

Albert Reynolds Funerals Scenes Bertie Ahern Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will appear to discuss the role of the Oireachtas during the crisis when he was the opposition leader. Fine Gael’s then finance spokesperson and now Jobs Minister Richard Bruton will attend the same meeting.

Former Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern will be questioned about his role in the lead up to, and immediate aftermath of, the banking collapse. He’s likely to appear in July, as is his successor Brian Cowen.

Several bankers from Anglo, Irish Nationwide and Permanent TSB will also face questioning, as will former International Monetary Fund executive Ajai Chopra.

Several papers report that around ten bankers from Anglo have been called including Sean FitzPatrick, David Drumm, Mike Aynsley and Alan Dukes, as well as former Irish Nationwide chief executive Michael Fingleton.

Sean Fitzpatrick is Free Seán Fitzpatrick Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Tánaiste Joan Burton and Labour TD Pat Rabbitte, former party Progressive Democrats leader Mary Harney and Green Party leader John Gormley have also been asked to appear.

All eyes will be on the committee as members finally get an opportunity to question the key players in Irish politics and banking who had a front row seat during the crisis.

The committee is hoping all witnesses will appear freely so the process is not slowed down by them having to use their power of  compellability.

At this point, no great revelations have been made at the banking inquiry, but many will hope the next round of interviews will shed more light on why the economy went into free fall.

Inside Leinster House

A war of words has broken out between two Senators as the same-sex marriage debate nears its end. Fidelma Healy Eames said Averil Power’s claims the No side is using ”dirty tactics” is “outrageous”.

The agenda

  • The Dáil and Seanad aren’t sitting today, but the Cabinet will meet.
  • The banking inquiry will have two meetings today: at 9.30am Ronan Murphy and John McDonnell from PwC will face questions, while Paul Smith, former Managing Partner at Ernst & Young, and Dargan Fitzgerald, Audit Partner at Ernst & Young, will appear at 3pm.
  • TDs and Senators on both sides of the campaign will make one final effort to galvanise voters ahead of Friday’s same-sex marriage and presidential age referendums.
  • Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will continue their royal visit, travelling to Mullaghmore in Sligo.

What the others are saying

  • Senior government figures are predicting a yes vote of up to 60% in the same-sex marriage referendum, according to the Irish Times.
  • Meanwhile, the Irish Independent states that Labour is angry some sections of Fine Gael failed to canvass for a Yes vote.
  • The same paper reports that the Public Expenditure Department will present a draft text to trade unions today in ongoing talks about public pay restoration.

In case you missed it

On the Twitter machine

Health Minister Leo Varadkar seems happy Stephen Fry has weighed into the same-sex marriage debate.

Originally published: 9am

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67 Comments
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    Mute Alan Dowdall
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    Jan 16th 2014, 9:37 AM

    Chemical castration and then a tattoo across their foreheads.

    Let them wake up in fear every day for the rest of their pathetic lives. Maybe then they will understand what they are doing to these children who will be unable to trust anyone for the rest of their lives.

    234
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    Mute Howard Cooley
    Favourite Howard Cooley
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    Jan 16th 2014, 6:52 PM

    Why chemical actual with axe would be better.

    13
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    Mute Etienne de Montfort
    Favourite Etienne de Montfort
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    Jan 16th 2014, 7:35 PM

    This is kind of shite I was referring to

    1
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    Mute Skip Goose
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    Jan 16th 2014, 9:30 AM

    Absolute Sc*m

    202
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    Mute Chris Heffernan
    Favourite Chris Heffernan
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    Jan 16th 2014, 9:30 AM

    Chop off their penises.

    122
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    Mute Won Hung Loh
    Favourite Won Hung Loh
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:33 AM

    And ram it up their jacks..

    50
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    Mute Etienne de Montfort
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    Jan 16th 2014, 11:38 AM

    What is it with commentators on this site? You’re all obsessed with cutting off/mutilating male genatalia. Go back to the dark ages

    21
    See 1 more reply ▾
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    Mute Drama Dave
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    Jan 16th 2014, 1:35 PM

    So sorry to bring this up but the current plural of penis is penii. I know we use the other one but penii is a la mode at the mo. So sorry to have raised that, i’ll be headin back to the pole now. Santa

    14
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    Mute Andrea Rock Massey
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:18 AM

    I don’t know who is worse, the pedophiles or the parents pimping out their children. And I don’t give a damn about how poor they are, there is no excuse in the world that could possibly justify that. Pimp themselves out if that’s the case…

    119
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    Mute Stephen McMahon
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    Jan 16th 2014, 12:50 PM

    Dont mean to defend but playing devils advocate here. Must be really difficult to see your kids starve too. In parts of this world people have to make very tough choices to survive daily. Its the, relativly, rich western paedos that are to blame. No market no internet abuse.

    14
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    Mute Etienne de Montfort
    Favourite Etienne de Montfort
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    Jan 16th 2014, 7:36 PM

    I’d prostitute myself before I’d prostitute my kids. Or indeed, any kids

    13
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    Mute Marguerite Hoiby
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    Jan 17th 2014, 5:24 AM

    You would have to be concerned about the red thumbs down people here???

    4
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    Mute stacey k
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:04 AM

    I feel physically sickened by this article.

    103
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    Mute stacey k
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:10 AM

    Vile people.

    65
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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:04 AM

    Great Job Cops

    94
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    Mute Stephen McMahon
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    Jan 16th 2014, 9:46 AM

    These people should be jailed for 20+ years and only let out after getting a tattoo on their forehead. They have forfitted their right to a normal existance.

    64
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    Mute Dee4
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    Jan 16th 2014, 9:33 AM

    public hanging, bury them, dig them up and hang them again

    63
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    Mute Drama Dave
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    Jan 16th 2014, 4:45 PM

    Ah, slight flaw in your plan there. Won’t the neck have decomposed underground to a point where the head is likely to come off on the second suspension?

    4
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    Mute Brian Keelty
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    Jan 16th 2014, 9:36 AM

    Puts against wall and riddles with bullets… lowest sc*m of all

    45
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    Mute Paul Lawlor
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:13 AM

    I am free to execute ALL paedophiles for free.

    33
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    Mute Sandra Cahill
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    Jan 16th 2014, 11:03 AM

    The paedo’s are bad enough but to say parents are pimping out their own kids! What kinda sick fu#ks are they? Parents should be jailed for life with it made well known in the prision what their in for as for the paedo’s chop off their hands, castrate them, tattoo it on their foreheads and backs what they are and tag them til the day they die

    26
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    Mute richardmccarthy
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    Jan 16th 2014, 11:20 AM

    I fail to understand why chemical castration should’nt be applied as a means of control for people who obvously are mentally unstable and dangerous, or are the human rights brigade not interested in

    23
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    Mute Ryleigh kane
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    Jan 16th 2014, 11:43 AM

    Chem/cas will not stop abuse….withdrawing their oxygen supply will.

    26
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    Mute Theresa Cox
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    Jan 17th 2014, 12:39 PM

    Because if they can’t use their penii they will use any foreign object at hand. Child sexual abuse is more about the power and the infliction of pain than sexual pleasure for the perpetrator. Lock them up and make them live in conditions where they wish for death the remaining days of their lives. Death is too much a reward for them.

    1
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    Mute Michael Drake
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:01 AM

    Read this folks. Directly from Australian outback
    Truly chilling stuff

    http://www.reddit.com/r/LetsNotMeet/comments/1t2uwq/the_office_in_the_middle_of_nowhere/

    21
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    Mute J. Dunn
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    Jan 16th 2014, 11:41 AM

    Reads like poorly written fiction.

    4
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    Mute #Nimby1
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:55 AM

    Live video stream of them being castrated.

    21
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    Mute Philip
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:34 AM

    Where are the nsa and government.

    They have all the information and surely have the ability to shut these down.

    Why the will isn’t there is questionable. Spend the extra resources required

    19
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    Mute Tony O Reilly
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    Jan 16th 2014, 10:59 AM

    Animals that do these things should face the death penalty,there’s no other sentence that could possibly fit this crime!

    14
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    Mute Drama Dave
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    Jan 16th 2014, 4:50 PM

    What’s the point in putting animals to death? What have they done?

    2
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    Mute Donal O Neil
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    Jan 16th 2014, 8:46 PM

    Save the foxes first

    1
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    Mute Dom AcePlazo
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    Jan 16th 2014, 9:46 AM

    Child sexual exploitation and trafficking is a very common practice all across the Far East and completely acceptable by the locals and the West can do jack to stop it.

    11
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    Mute Cannabis Freedom
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    Jan 16th 2014, 11:05 AM

    Child sexual exploitation is common in many of the poorer eastern countries, but to say that it’s completely acceptable by the locals is not true, the majority of people in these countries detest pedophilia and they see what’s going on as a total abuse of their poverty. Also, to say that the rest of the world can do jack to stop it is bullshit and the above story proves that, if we had our priorities right we could make a real difference.

    43
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    Mute Ryleigh kane
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    Jan 16th 2014, 11:30 AM

    Bring back hanging……

    9
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    Mute Paul McCarthy
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    Jan 16th 2014, 6:45 PM

    Cut off their eyelids and sprinkle salt on their eyeballs; then have a cat lick the salt off……a cat that has rabies. Then squirt lighter fluid on their knackers and set up a mini-barbeque over it where strips of their flesh are cooked and their family members are forced to eat while they watch. Oh, and give them a chinese burn while all this is happening.

    8
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    Mute Stephen McMahon
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    Jan 16th 2014, 1:52 PM

    Death penalty wouldnt solve anything. America has proven that. Very easy to go for knee jerk reaction. I would be all for really long jail terms plus tatooing. Death penalty just doesnt work as deterrant

    8
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    Mute Drama Dave
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    Jan 16th 2014, 4:48 PM

    Well it will deter the same person from doing it again. As for others, of course not but the DP is about revenge as are most of the posts above.

    1
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    Mute Kitty Prendergast
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    Jan 16th 2014, 11:04 PM

    @Stephen: Show me one executed person that has reoffended…

    3
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    Mute Jacinta Johnson
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    Jan 16th 2014, 12:00 PM

    Tie them to posts pour petrol around there feet and we can all through matches at them.Putting these disgusting evil people in prison for a couple of years with a slap on the hand doesn’t reform them it just makes them more careful not to be caught next time.Its time to dispose of all these pedophiles .

    8
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