Debtors owing more than €9bn to the State-owned Irish Bank Resolution Company are paying just 2% interest on their loans – a fraction of the rate which normally applies to commercial lending.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said he answered all questions from Independent TD Catherine Murphy and did not “drip feed” information. 

While complicated, the independent commission of investigation examining concerns over bad bank IBRC effectively involves three points: interest rates; ‘unusual’ share trading; and business deals that left the State tens of millions of euro out of pocket.

Siteserv had €10m on its balance sheet when sold to Denis O’Brien’s company Millington despite the fact that prospective bidders were told it was for sale on a “cash-free” basis, a TD has claimed.

The Central Bank’s 2012 investigation into the controversial Siteserv deal was limited to the IBRC side of the transaction only and did not involve any inquiry into issues surrounding the company itself.

Independent TD Catherine Murphy is preparing to mount a motion in the Dáil next week to force Finance Minister Michael Noonan to address claims that he withheld details about the sale of Siteserv.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has claimed he was “very forthcoming” with details on the Siteserv deal despite failing to highlight problems during Dáil questions over a four-month period.

All relevant details about the sale of Siteserv to a Denis O’Brien-owned company should be made public, Tánaiste Joan Burton has said, amid revelations of a surge in share sales in the month before the first confidential offers for the firm.

The former chief executive of IBRC has claimed Finance Minister Michael Noonan should extend the Siteserv probe to include multi-million euro debt write-downs by AIB and Nama if he really wants to uncover the full depth of the situation.

There’s a limit to what a slightly OCD independent member of the Oireachtas can do on this, writes Alison O’ Connor

What is SiteServ and why is it in the news?

Infrastructure company Siteserv has hit back at what they say are unfounded accusations over its sale.

Irish construction services group Siteserv has gained overwhelming shareholder approval for its sale to one of Denis O’Brien’s investment firms.

Dublin-based construction services group Siteserv has described as “spurious and vexatious” the claims that an international rival was ignored as a potential bidder for the firm.

An international construction services group, which claims its attempts to buy Irish counterpart Siteserv were ignored, is considering lodging a complaint to the Competition Authority if the sale of the company goes through this week.

Irish shares performed well yesterday, thus following the trend seen across all main European bourses.