When Tony Blair was first elected as prime minister in 1997 the first thing he and his Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown did was to grant operational independence to the Bank of England.

Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan is expected to recommend the appointment of a new Governor of the Central Bank to the Cabinet on Tuesday.

The nation's crippling bank bailout has cost taxpayers an estimated €40 billion to date, the Governor of the Central Bank revealed.

The Governor of the Central Bank has hinted that the bank is considering an easing of new mortgage lending rules, which will see borrowers having to save a 20% deposit before they are eligible for a mortgage.

A credit union in County Cork has been wound up by order of the High Court.

There's renewed pressure on the Governor of the Central Bank over the Anglo Tapes with Sinn Féin declaring in the Dáil that Patrick Honohan "sat on his hands".

The Governor of the Central Bank has insisted there is no smoking gun in controversial taped conversations of former Anglo Irish Bank executives to suggest criminality.

The Governor of the Central Bank says the banks are engaging in wishful thinking that arrears cases will resolve themselves.

The Governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, will come before the Oireachtas Finance Committee today.

Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm has accused politicians and senior officials of making him a scapegoat for the banking crisis.

The chief executive of KBC Bank John Reynolds has said that the bank is not writing off debt for their most hard-pressed customers.

The Governor of the Central Bank has said it is not surprising that negotiations on a deal on the Irish banking debt have taken "two steps forward and one step back".

The Governor of the Central Bank Patrick Honohan has said Ireland could benefit from the ECB's decision to buy the bonds of troubled Eurozone countries.

The Governor of the Central Bank Patrick Honohan has said Ireland should ratify the forthcoming EU Fiscal Treaty.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he is hopeful the European Central Bank (ECB) will agree to a deal to swap the Anglo Irish Bank promissory notes for a long-term Government bond.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said today that he has "every faith" in the Governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, in his efforts to broker a deal with the European Central Bank (ECB) regarding Ireland's debt.

The Governor of the Central Bank is expected to ask for the delay in the payment of €3.1bn to the former Anglo Irish Bank, which is due at the end of March.

The Governor of the Central Bank has sadi that the lack of bank credit in Ireland is likely to become a serious drag on our recovery.

The governor of the Central Bank has warned that inefficient regulation of the banking sector can be "as useless as no regulation".

The Governor of the Central Bank has announced he is going to investigate all financial institutions to assess whether they are complying with the code on mortgage arrears.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s communication skills have regularly been called in to question by the Opposition and unidentified disgruntled members of his Fianna Fáil party.

THERE is “no question of a loss of sovereignty” for the country, according to the Taoiseach, who said Irish people should not feel “ashamed or humiliated” as talks got under way over a possible massive loan for the banks.

THE highly contentious bank guarantee scheme was extended until the end of next year amid angry Dáil scenes.

Finance minister Brian Lenihan today denied plans to split Anglo Irish Bank into two separate institutions were a fig leaf to mask confusion over how to deal with the situation.

The Government’s plan to split Anglo-Irish Bank in two is no silver bullet to revive confidence in the banking sector, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan warned today.

PATRICK HONOHAN – the Governor of the Central Bank – has described the exercise of rescuing Anglo Irish Bank as “costly, but manageable”.

The Governor of the Central Bank has said that former Financial Regulator Patrick Neary was not the only person who made mistakes in the run-up to the current financial crisis.

GOVERNMENT policy helped to lead the country into economic crisis, according to the Governor of the Central Bank who went on to suggest that the government also made people believe “the party could last forever”.

GOVERNMENT decisions and tax policies that fuelled the boom and contributed to the financial crisis will not be examined as part of the banking inquiry.

An Taoiseach Brian Cowen has insisted that the Government took action ahead of the banking crisis to reduce the vulnerability of the banks to the property bubble.

The two reports into the banking crisis lay some of the blame on Taoiseach Brian Cowen, saying his 2007 Budget (when he was Finance Minister) added markedly to the overheating of the economy.

Those who are guilty of causing the banking crisis must be brought to justice, the Environment Minister said tonight.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan today insisted a 15% shareholding taken by the state in Bank of Ireland today makes perfect sense.

Fine Gael is today calling for cross-party support for an inquiry into the banking crisis.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has flatly rejected accusations that he is blocking an inquiry into the banking and financial crisis in case it may implicate him or his Government in the crisis.

QUESTIONS remain about how Irish banks lost so much money, according to the Governor of the Central Bank who has said he believes there will be an inquiry into the causes of the recent crisis in the Irish banking system.

The Governor of the Central Bank is to face questioning about the Irish financial sector today.

The country will remain in the grips of a recession for at least another year, economists warned today.

Fine Gael today demanded to see the loan books of Bank of Ireland and AIB before it backs the Government’s latest recapitalisation plan.

The Government has announced a guarantee arrangement to safeguard all deposits with Ireland’s main banks for the next two years following yesterday's turmoil on the stock markets across the world.

The Governor of the Central Bank is to attend the Oireachtas Finance Committee later this month.

The Governor of the Central Bank said today that the outlook for the Irish economy is good, despite fears of a recession in the US.

Dublin supermarket shoppers got more than they bargained for today when the Duke of York swept through the store today.