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Cash only: Bertie Ahern is NOT one of those Irish people who has said they have kept a bank account secret from their partner. In fact, he claims he had no bank account at all until December 1993. PA Images/Niall Carson

One in ten Irish people keep a secret bank account

Survey says that one in six lie to their partner about their debts.

IF YOU THINK something doesn’t add up about your partner, try looking into their financial details.

Sixteen per cent of those interviewed for a survey by lastminute.com said they had hidden a bank statement or credit card from a partner. The survey found that women aged between 35 and 44 were most likely to do so.

Overall, 14 per cent of women said they had concealed debts, while only 11 per cent of men had kept their debts secret. However, 24 per cent of women surveyed said they had been lied to by a partner about money – 14 per cent of men believed they had been lied to.

Nearly one in ten of those questioned said they had a bank account that their partner didn’t know about – 34 per cent of those said the account held more than €5,000. The reasons they gave for keeping the account a secret included security in case of a break up (14 per cent of the women; 1 per cent of the men). Most of the men who had concealed accounts said that they simply felt that their finances were their own business.

Even so, the men surveyed were more likely to find financial infidelity harder to forgive than sexual infidelity (14 per cent as opposed to 8 per cent of the women).

Unsurprisingly, given those results, 12 per cent of people say they don’t like talking about finances with their partner.

If you are so inclined, Howtodothings.com has a checklist on how to open a bank account without your partner’s knowledge. Final bit of advice? Be a bit more discreet than these punters:

Sudan president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir
1 / 6
  • Sudan president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir

    Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir, right, was one of the thousands of public figures accused in documents released by WikiLeaks of squirreling away billions of dollars into foreign bank accounts.Source: PA Images
  • Former French president Jacques Chirac

    Two French investigative journalists published a book in 2008 called The Incredible Story of Jacques Chirac's Japanese Bank Account - catchy title - claiming that Chirac was involved in sweetheart deals with Japan and had an account in Tokyo with 300m francs in it. He has denied the presence of the account.Source: AP
  • The Swiss sing

    In 2009, the Swiss financial regulators allowed UBS bank to divulge the names of clients who were suspected of using offshore accounts to evade taxes. The move led to some sweaty palms among those who have long viewed a Swiss bank account as the ultimate in secure, and secret, banking. (Pic: Patrick Breen/Flickr)
  • Charlie Haughey

    The Moriarty Tribunal into payments to those in public office found in 2006 that former Taoiseach Haughey had used offshore Ansbacher accounts for tax evasion.Source: PA Images
  • Nazi gold

    Nazi Germany transferred assets it looted from its victims to overseas banks during WWII - this included the swapping of gold for currency. The current location of much of the so-called 'Nazi gold' is disputed.
  • Bertie Ahern

    Former Taoiseach Ahern is the odd one out in this slideshow. He doesn't have a secret bank account, remember? In fact, he claimed he didn't have a bank account at all up until December 1993. At that stage, he had been Finance Minister of Ireland for two full years.

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    Mute L-Plate
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:34 PM

    3G patchy, 4G almost non existent around Ireland al least. Let’s start on 5G!

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    Mute Kevin Higgins
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    Jun 16th 2014, 12:32 PM

    So Should I upgrade my iPhone 4 yet or wait?

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    Mute DaveMac
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:21 PM

    Your iPhone 4 doesn’t support 4G, so it will only work on 2G and 3G networks. So your phone is behind already

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    Mute Jason Bourne
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:23 PM

    Upgrade to an iphone 7 and to hell with everyone else.

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    Mute Kevin Higgins
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:28 PM

    I know its old! What I don’t know is if its better to upgrade now or wait

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    Mute DaveMac
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:59 PM

    Your device is capable of a theoretical speed 42.3Mbps so it’s still very good as long as you are near a tower. So really you can make do with your iPhone 4!

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    Mute Viking
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    Jun 16th 2014, 2:39 PM

    Was in the US recently and discovered my iPhone 4 has 4G. Forgot to turn off data and cost me a fortune in 15 secs :-(

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    Mute DaveMac
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    Jun 16th 2014, 4:18 PM

    Viking this is probably not the case.. Some of the operators advertise their UMTS networks as ’4G’ even though they are 3G. They do this because no one owns the terms ’4G’ or ’3G’ and simply renaming their 3G network as ’4G’ gives the perception that their network is more advanced that their competitors. That’s America for you!

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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
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    Jun 16th 2014, 5:50 PM

    Somebody give that poor man a simple yes or no answer!

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    Mute Michael Bodycoach
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    Jun 16th 2014, 12:33 PM

    Im going to start working on 11G now, by the time they get there Ill probably have invented it and ill be rich!

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    Mute Jason Bourne
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:24 PM

    Start at 1H, totally take everyone by surprise.

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    Mute D
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    Jun 16th 2014, 12:31 PM

    3G , 4G …. 5G …..
    Could someone please explain these terms in English.
    Is this just another way to get more money out of us consumers or are there real benefits to society?

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    Mute DaveMac
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    Jun 16th 2014, 12:35 PM

    Each is a generation. One generation is an technological evolution of the other. The higher the number, the faster the internet on your phone.

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    Mute Frank
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    Jun 16th 2014, 12:44 PM

    The higher the number the bigger the tumour..

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    Mute Patrick Moran
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    Jun 16th 2014, 12:45 PM

    Doesn’t matter a shite when you still can’t get even 2G in certain parts of rural Ireland.

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    Mute Jason Bourne
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:22 PM

    The higher the number, the more you have to pay to use it!!!

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    Mute seamus mcdermott
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:32 PM

    It has a lot to do with the consumer product cycle. Just about the time your phone stops holding a battery charge, they develop a new “network technology” so you will buy a new phone to go with the new network and the new contract with your provider that includes a new price.

    I still have an old Motorola phone bought in China for 5quid that still works–and it goes a week between charging! Of course, I can’t tweet or update my FB…life’s critical elements are therefore beyond my reach when driving.

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    Mute gerry campbell
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    Jun 16th 2014, 2:41 PM

    I’d settle for a signal 3 are a disaster, now they have 02, will 3 get better or 02 worse ?

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    Mute John Farrant
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:39 PM

    We haven’t got 4G yet and no idea when we will.

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    Mute DaveMac
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:59 PM

    We do have 4G, it is live.

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    Mute seamus mcdermott
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    Jun 16th 2014, 1:28 PM

    I think I can live without the power of the xG network.

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    Mute Paul Farrell
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    Jun 16th 2014, 11:27 PM

    5g cant even get 2g ffs

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    Mute Michael Lynch
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    Jun 16th 2014, 9:59 PM

    Is there a network that uses Henry McG….?

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