Banking inquiry report is wreaking havoc with election plans

Its detractors may write it of as irrelevant but in one way at least it is important, the timing of the election and debate, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith Political Reporter

THROUGHOUT the bank inquiry’s troubled year, its critics have repeatedly claimed the vital investigation into what caused the economic crash will ultimately be an irrelevant, messy side-note, at best.

That suggestion may be an unfair reflection of the work of those involved, but there is one reason why the inquiry’s detractors must accept that it is destined to be not just relevant, but central to the political debate over the coming weeks.