The largest private equity firm in the world, the Carlyle Group, is looking for investment opportunities in Ireland, according to its founder and co-chief executive, William Conway.

The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, has vowed to stay on as he attempted to distance himself from a secret inquiry into one of the country's most dangerous paedophiles.

Abuse victims support group One in Four has said new allegations surrounding Cardinal Seán Brady's role in the Brendan Smyth abuse scandal require an explanation from the Cardinal.

Mary Raftery’s work exposed many abusers who had been protected by the Church, writes Andrew Madden

IRISH Life & Permanent may need an injection of up to €1 billion in state funding once details of the stress tests are announced tomorrow.

IRISH Life & Permanent (IL&P) has said it remains open to the idea of forming some kind of merger between its banking division and the EBS Building Society even if as expected it loses out in the race to acquire the latter business.

THE deadline for final bids to be submitted for the EBS Building Society passed yesterday, with Irish Life & Permanent and Cardinal Asset Management understood to be in the final shakeup for the business.

BANKING analyst Ken Darmody yesterday welcomed the fact that private equity holders were still interested in getting involved in the Irish banking sector.

THE Irish market lost some of Thursday’s gains yesterday as investors sold banking stocks after news that the final two bidders for EBS have been confirmed and Bank of Ireland sold its asset management unit. The ISEQ index ended the day down 28.65 at 2,719.65.

Dublin: Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P) and a consortium of private equity investors, led by Dublin-based house Cardinal Capital, have been confirmed as the final two bidders who will battle it out for control of the EBS Building Society, which is currently under state control.

A SHORTLIST of bidders to buy the EBS Building Society is expected to be announced by the Government within a few days.

The governor of Mexico’s northern Jalisco state said gay marriages disgust him.

THE sale of the EBS is being viewed as an ongoing process as no real progress has been made this week despite reports that veteran American investor Wilbur Ross is to take control of the lender.

IRISH Life & Permanent (IL&P) and US private equity group JC Flowers are now being seen as the probable last two players in the chase to acquire the EBS Building Society.

EBS Building Society, the country’s biggest customer-owned lender, set an August 9 deadline for a second round of takeover bids, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

FIVE preliminary bids for EBS Building Society were lodged before yesterday’s submission deadline, the Irish Examiner understands.

THE battle for control of EBS Building Society has moved up a notch. Irish Life & Permanent has emerged as a potential buyer.

EBS Building Society, which is now controlled by the state, could be demutualised with the next 12 months.

EBS Building Society, which is now controlled by the state, could be demutualised with the next 12 months.

Abuse survivors claimed today that Cardinal Sean Brady’s vow to remain in office was a mistake and sent out a signal that the Church has not changed.

TOP-level talks that could determine the future direction of EBS Building Society and Cardinal Capital Group – led by Irishmen Nick Corcoran and Nigel McDermott – are talking place.

A potentially bitter court battle involving two of Ireland’s most senior clerics in a dispute over the release of secret church files was withdrawn today.

The Catholic hierarchy in Ireland was preparing tonight for a potentially bitter courtroom row involving two of its most senior clerics.

A senior Catholic clergyman was tonight locked in a legal wrangle with a commission investigating the legacy of clerical child sexual abuse.

Cardinal Venture romped home in the opening race at Doncaster to provide trainer Kevin Ryan with his 77th winner of the campaign.

Seven priests of China’s underground Roman Catholic Church have been detained for attending an unauthorised retreat following the election of the new Pope, a US-based monitoring group said today.

Colonel Frank turned in a brilliant round of jumping to make every yard in the williamhill.co.uk Future Stars Chase, the highlight of a fine day’s action at Sandown Park today.

A CARDINAL mentioned as a candidate to be the next Pope sent a fugitive priest accused of molesting an altar boy in Costa Rica to work in two remote parishes in Honduras, it was reported yesterday.

TWO businessmen who set up an asset management company have sold 30% of the firm for around €15 million.

IMAGINE my surprise on learning from the Irish Examiner (February 19), that the giant US conglomerate, Cardinal Health, a company of 50,000 employees in 22 countries on five continents, indicated their intention to set up a plant in Longford back in December 2000 just to get me elected to Dáil Éireann in May 2002.

TÁNAISTE Mary Harney last night rejected fresh accusations of announcing 2,600 "phantom" jobs to win seats for the Government before the last general election.

CARDINAL Desmond Connell has admitted that the lack of a support service for victims of clerical child sexual abuse in the Dublin diocese was a serious failure.

Cardinal Desmond Connell has announced plans to establish a support network for the victims of clerical child sex abuse in the Dublin diocese.

Cardinal Desmond Connell is meeting two victims of clerical sex abuse.

THE Boston Archdiocese, struggling to contend with a flurry of sex abuse lawsuits, has moved a step closer to a remedy usually associated with troubled businesses and people buried in debt: a bankruptcy filing.

Cardinal Desmond Connell has tonight issued a statement of regret following revelations of abuse within the Dublin diocese.

Irish survivors of child abuse have called for a garda investigation into allegations that senior members of the Catholic Church helped cover up child sex abuse.

CARDINAL DESMOND CONNELL was under fire once more last night following fresh allegations that the Dublin archdiocese repeatedly failed to respond to complaints of clerical child sex abuse.

MORE than 1,300 new jobs promised for Longford two years ago are now unlikely to come on stream before 2007, if at all.

The group Irish Survivors of Child Abuse has criticised a letter sent by Cardinal Connell yesterday to all churches.

Cardinal Desmond Connell is sending a letter to all diocese around the country expressing regret at mistakes made in dealing with child sexual abuse by priests.

A Cardinal in Boston is set to become the highest-ranking churchman to resign to date in connection with a worldwide child sex abuse scandal.

The Taoiseach has spoken for the first time on the controversy surrounding last night's reception for Cardinal Desmond Connell.

A spokesperson for the Government has insisted the Taoiseach is "absolutely not offended" by remarks made by Cardinal Archbishop Desmond Connell last night.