Lynch faces fight to prove he is no Government stooge

Banking probe chief Ciarán Lynch emerged victorious in a bitter Dáil turf war to run the high profile inquiry, but now faces a fresh fight to prove he is no Government stooge.

Despite a reputation as an adept and skilful chairman of the Dáil’s Finance Committee, the Cork TD will be under intense scrutiny from Fianna Fáil figures determined to brand him biased.

Outspoken Fianna Fáil chairman of the Dáil’s Public Account Committee (PAC) John McGuinness launched a very public campaign to head up the banking probe, but Mr Lynch was always favoured by the Government.

Mr Lynch, 49, was widely tipped for a junior ministerial post in the expected autumn reshuffle, but will now concentrate on steering the financial probe.

Elected to the Dáil in 2007, Mr Lynch previously worked with prison inmates and narrowly missed out on a Government position when Labour came to power in 2011.

Mr Lynch has won cross-party praise for a firm but fair chairmanship of finance committee probes into areas like the failure of banks to deal adequately with the mortgage crisis, but will come under fire from a Fianna Fáil likely to try and portray the inquiry as a “show trial” in the run-up to the slated 2016 general election.

The TD, a brother-in-law of junior minister Kathleen Lynch, will also face the pressure of presiding over a probe which lacks the power to apportion blame after voters rejected restoring full investigative powers to the Dáil in a referendum.

A sharp and punchy debater, his encounters with expected inquiry witnesses such as Brian Cowen and Bertie Ahern should prove compelling viewing.