Ahead of this weekend's referendum in Greece, Irish Finance Minister, Michael Noonan has been playing down the effect that a further downturn in Greece would have on Ireland's economy.
The minister highlighted the limited direct financial links between the two countries, apart from eurozone membership.
“As financial markets in Greece have been adversely affected through declines in the stock market, capital outflows and increases in bond yields, elsewhere in the euro area markets have been broadly stable,” he said, commenting on the lack of contagion so far during the current phase of the Greek debt crisis.
Greece needs €50bn over the next three years to stabilise its finances even under existing creditor plans, the IMF has said.
In a new report, the IMF acknowledged a huge deterioration in the country's prospects in recent months.
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Brian Cowen has denied that the government was "on autopilot" in the midst of the financial crisis, and says he takes full and complete responsibility for his role in and response to the economic crisis.
The former-Taoiseach says Ireland hit trouble because of the size of the financial crisis, not because of government inaction.
Giving evidence at the Banking Inquiry he admitted Ireland had become over-reliant on the construction sector, but denied that his policies had fuelled the bubble.
"You’re setting me up as some sort of guy who is promoting cowboy speculators … I don’t travel in those circles," he told the inquiry.
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The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) spent €132,000 in legal expenses trying to argue that the body should be exempt from having to release information under freedom to environmental information rules, known as Environmental Information Regulations (EIR).
The case related to a five-year-old request for information by journalist Gavin Sheridan - NAMA's case was against the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information, another state body.
Journalist and transparency campaigner Gavin Sheridan commented on the release: "We are disappointed at the scale of costs involved in the case between NAMA and the Commissioner for Environmental Information, in the end the public pays for the costs of both parties."
He continued: "We believe that the issues at hand could have been resolved at a much earlier juncture. However, the case is of significant public interest and we are pleased that we now have legal clarity."
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Car Hire company Hertz is pulling the plug on its relationship with Ryanair. Hertz says its taken the decision following lengthy negotiations over a contractual dispute.
However, Ryanair is planning to sue the car rental firm for breach of contract and damages, saying the agreement was ended on short notice. Hertz says all current bookings will be honoured.
In a statement the company says it is confident in its legal position and the firm will pursue the matter through the courts.
