Ireland 'offered most tax breaks in Europe'

The author of one of the reports into Ireland's banking crisis has said he was surprised by the amount and scale of the tax incentives offered by the Government in the run up to the banking crash.

Klaus Regling said Ireland "offered more tax breaks than any other European country".

He also said the tax incentives fuelled the property bubble, and fostered wreckless lending by the banks.

Co-author of the report Max Watson said the banking crash could have been avoided if the Government had reigned in spending, and got rid of tax breaks during the boom.