OF COURSE the tribunals were far too expensive. Of course they took far too long to report, and of course they were too cumbersome and fragmented; most certainly there were inappropriate leaks.

THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last night expressed outrage after being denied access to key documents which one member said could expose a “massive rip-off” of taxpayers’ cash pumped into the disastrous MediaLab venture.

AIB is to pay back €1.4 million to 34,000 third-level students after ongoing investigations into overcharging at the bank found fees were wrongly levied on student accounts.

The Bush administration was guilty of spreading “covert propaganda” through a series of ready-made television “news” packages it sent to broadcasters, a US government watchdog has concluded.