Banking inquiry members welcome shorter report but Government may beef up investigations if necessary

Banking inquiry members have given a guarded welcome to their drastically cut-back report into what caused the economic crash amid claims the Government may seek new powers to beef up investigations if it fails to meet public demand.

Several inquiry members confirmed last night the cross-party group now has “something we can work with” after a week of drama that raised fears the €5m year-long investigation was on the verge of collapse.

Last week, inquiry members Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy and Labour senator Susan O’Keeffe were asked to rewrite a 750-page report drawn up by back-room officials which had 1,000-plus inaccuracies.