Pat Rabbitte in withering form but no real meat

When does a show trial become a no-show trial? When precious little new shows up to justify the effort involved.

Thus is the fate of the Oireachtas probe into the banking collapse which the Coalition hoped would suitably shame Fianna Fáil in the run up to next year’s general election, but has so far failed to engage public imagination.

It has all become a rather pedestrian, and — as exemplified by the Taoiseach’s testimony yesterday — highly partisan, stroll through history.

And two of the session’s other star witnesses, Joan Burton and Pat Rabbitte, certainly have history. Not the nice nursery rhyme sort, but more the bloodier, Game of Thrones variety. Indeed, the frostiness of their relationship has nothing to fear from global warming.

Mr Rabbitte is still smarting from her sacking him from Cabinet “in less than 20 seconds”.

For her part, Ms Burton is not too impressed with Mr Rabbitte telling anyone who’ll listen that a key reason for elevating her to the role of Labour’s finance spokesperson was gender.

And it was that decision which brought the unhappy couple together again as they waited to go into the inquiry. “Hello Pat!” trilled Ms Burton. “Tánaiste,” came the weary-sounding minimal acknowledgement from Mr Rabbitte, who then cut the pleasantries dead as he switched his attention to Independent senator Shane Ross, asking: “What are you doing here?”

But before the senator could answer, Ms Burton took it upon herself to explain: “He’s coming in to listen to us, Pat.”

Pat did not look best pleased with this intervention of the obvious, but once in the committee room, it was the Tánaiste who received the toughest time via Fianna Fáil finance spokesperson Michael McGrath who despaired at her meandering answers, declaring of Ms Burton: “I am utterly frustrated.”

Pat did not comment, but one suspects he has not been unfamiliar with such a feeling in the past.

“It’s three minutes in and you haven’t even gone near answering the question yet,” Mr McGrath again observed.

Try doing a press conference with the Tánaiste, buddy, you’ll have to wait a lot longer than that for clarity.

Indeed, Ms Burton is much like director Quentin Tarantino post-Pulp Fiction — desperately in need of a good editor.

Living up to his reputation as Leinster House’s most waspish wit, Mr Rabbitte was saving the withering put-down of the day for his exchanges with Fianna Fáil Senator Marc MacSharry.

Mr MacSharry, who failed to get elected to the Dáil and is the son of former finance minister Ray MacSharry, was left as political roadkill when he animatedly pressed Mr Rabbitte on whether he had received hospitality or transport from developers.

Mr Rabbitte took out his six-shooter of sarcasm and aimed squarly at his target, replying: “Yeah I’ve travelled to matches, one friend of mine in particular is a small builder… I don’t know how good he is at it, his father was the small builder, and, I notice sometimes, Senator, that talent skips a generation.”

Mr MacSharry had tried that line of inquiry earlier on an uncomfortable Taoiseach, with Mr Kenny also provoking laughter by saying: “Do you mean by getting a lift from somebody? The question is ridiculous.”

But the real question remains: Is this all just a ridiculous waste of time and money, or will it leave something for the history books?