Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen face bank inquiry grilling in July

Former taoisigh Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, along with senior officials from the Department of Finance during the Celtic Tiger era, will be grilled by the Oireachtas banking inquiry in July.

Under the inquiry’s schedule of work, all interviews with witnesses — including bankers, members of the media, property experts, economists, and politicians — must be concluded by July before the cross-party group publishes its report in November.

Four more tranches of interviewees are still to be called, including those involving politicians and senior civil servants.