It is reported that the first witnesses to be called before the banking inquiry this September will be two individuals who had initially predicted the Celtic Tiger property collapse.

The total amount of credit outstanding to SMEs in the real economy is €24.5bn and not the figure of €58bn that has been circulating in the media over the past week, according to the Central Bank.

Ministers have been accused of ignoring the threat of a new economic crisis triggered by a wave of businesses forced to go bust.