Fianna Fáil's warning the Public Expenditure Minister they will be keeping a close eye on him to ensure there is no reduction in services to fund the public servants pay deal.

Government has come under sustained pressure to explain the €120m black hole which will have to be filled to deliver public sector wage increases.

There were 822 tax-efficient special purpose vehicles (SPVs), used by so-called ‘vulture funds’ and other investment firms, resident in Ireland with combined asset values of €324bn, as of the end of last year, newly published data from the Central Bank shows.