The Governor of the Central Bank said today that the bank guarantee was not the main cause of austerity.

Despite a seven-year economic crash which brought the country to its knees, the scandals at Anglo Irish Bank and other firms in 2008 would still go undetected today because crucial auditing and accounting rules have yet to be updated.

The 2008 blanket bank guarantee was a “fix up” designed to give “insolvent” Irish institutions emergency funding they should never have received, with the “politically biased” error ultimately forcing the ECB to impose the November 2010 bailout when the full crisis emerged.

Laws to allow an inquiry into Ireland's banking collapse have been passed today.

A new deal between the Government and banks to strengthen efforts to tackle distressed mortgages could be struck in the next three months.

Bankers have been likened to troublesome teenagers by one of the country’s most senior financial regulation officials.

Fianna Fáil wants all bonuses to senior bankers curtailed for five years, and then to only be paid if that person was not involved in losses for the bank.

A former Government Minister involved in the bank guarantee has said the issue was dealt with by telephone.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said new plans are in place to split up the good and bad loans in Permanent TSB (PTSB).

It has been reported that efforts will be made to shed light on the decisions which led to the 2008 bank guarantees.

Labour’s newest TD has warned the party leadership to take the rebellion of backbench colleague Tommy Broughan very seriously.

A Labour backbencher has become the third TD to rebel against the coalition after the Government moved to extend the bank guarantee scheme.

The Finance Minister has said his proposal to burn junior bondholders at Bank of Ireland is not a ploy to win back support for Budget 2012 from backbenchers.

The Government has decided to keep the bank guarantee in place for a further year.

An investigation by the Department of Finance into bonuses paid to executives at Bank of Ireland has found that the bank misled the State and the taxpayer.

The Government is investigating a €500,000 bonus to a senior banker.

New figures published this evening show the Central Bank had to pump another €10bn into Irish banks last month.

Banks that continue to link wage perks to inappropriate risk taking should be named and shamed after a damning review found little change in pay policies.

Fine Gael has called on the Minsiter for Finance Brian Lenihan to intervene directly to cut bankers' pay.

A new report from the Central Bank shows that financial institutions continue to foster risky lending in the way they pay senior executives.

The European Commission has approved the extension of Ireland's bank guarantee scheme for a further six months.

The Government is seeking to extend its guarantee of Ireland's struggling banks until the end of June next year, according to a report this morning.

The new executive chairman of AIB is expressing deep regret to shareholders for the crisis facing the bank.

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has advised Poland to keep tight control over financial institutions.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has defended his decision to extend the Government's bank guarantee scheme which was due to run out tonight.

The Government has survived the first test of the new Dáil term, winning a vote on the length of time set aside to debate the extension of the bank guarantee scheme.

The Labour Party is to oppose government plans to extend its guarantee of the banks.

The Government has defended its banking strategy, despite another fall in Ireland's credit rating.

At least 15 cases being investigated by the Director of Corporate Enforcement following the banking crisis have been referred to the Garda Fraud Squad, it has emerged.

Stress tests of 91 banks across Europe to gauge their ability to weather a new financial storm have revealed seven failures, regulators said today.

Bank of Ireland and AIB have both passed European stress tests, as part of a check-up on 91 banks across the EU.

A survey by Goldman Sachs is today forecasting that 10 of the 91 European banks examined will fail their stress tests.

The Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny says his party would not have supported the bank guarantee scheme in September 2008 if the government had revealed its advice on Anglo Irish Bank.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has said his party would not have supported

The Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is seeking further information on the events leading up to the introduction of the bank guarantee scheme, it has emerged today.

The Governor of the Central Bank has said that former Financial Regulator Patrick Neary was not the only person who made mistakes in the run-up to the current financial crisis.

The former financial regulator told the Taoiseach that Anglo Irish Bank was in good health just 72 hours before the Government had to move in to save it, according to reports today.

The European Commission has today approved the €3.5bn state recapitalisation of Bank of Ireland in 2009.

The Dáil Public Accounts Committee will examine today whether the decision to guarantee the country's banks was in the best interest of taxpayers.

The Dáil's Public Accounts Committee is to scrutinise documents concerning the decision to guarantee the country's banks in September 2008.

The Central Bank has warned financial institutions that they will be stopped from doing business if they do not have sufficient controls in place.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will appear before the Oireachtas committee on finance and the Public Service later this morning.

Opposition parties tonight rounded on Taoiseach Brian Cowen over the series of "catastrophic" actions that brought the country to its knees.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen tonight admitted he deeply regretted economic policy decisions he made ahead of the banking crisis.