Ministers ‘livid’ over Kenny’s banking inquiry move

A split in the Coalition over how Enda Kenny packed the Oireachtas inquiry into the banking collapse with Government members has dealt a fresh blow to the credibility of the probe.

Junior health minister and Labour leadership contender Alex White said ensuring a government majority on the investigation by adding two extra senators was “the sort of behaviour that gives politics a bad name”.

As Coalition leaders scrambled to try to contain the row, Labour senator John Whelan said ministers were “livid” over the way the issue had been handled and that the Government was now a “laughing stock” as a result of its manoeuvrings.