Anglo payout ‘U-turn’ sparks uproar

Revelations that junior bondholders at Anglo Irish Bank, who are seeking pay-outs of up to €280m, could be given a "bonanza" windfall just as the first water charge bills hit hard-pressed families next spring have provoked uproar.

Speaking in the Dáil, Finance Minister Michael Noonan was accused of a U-turn after he admitted the Anglo payments could happen — despite previous insistence that this was “unlikely”.

With bondholders set to be rewarded just as the €275m-a-year water charge on domestic users is imposed, campaigners warned the Government had its priorities wrong.