Fingleton may be obliged to pay back his expenses

THE Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore suggested that legal action may have to be brought against Irish Nationwide’s former head, Michael Fingleton.

Despite repeated requests, Mr Fingleton has failed to return a €1 million bonus he received when the left the building society — which got €5.4bn in taxpayers money to cover losses on loans to property developers and is now amalgamated with the state owned Anglo Irish bank.

Mr Fingleton received a request from the head of Anglo recently asking him to return the bonus, a gold watch worth more than €11,000 and €88,000 in expenses which were regarded as ‘suspect’.