The Oireachtas Banking Inquiry was formally established yesterday after motions were passed in the Dáil and Seanad. The inquiry now has the power to compel people to submit oral and written evidence. It has already met in private on a number of occasions and public hearings will begin in December. The final report is due in November 2015. 

Committee Chairman, Labour Party TD Ciarán Lynch commented that the initial context phase of the inquiry, "will consist of technical briefings for the committee in areas such as reviewing existing crisis reports; policy context and early warnings, banking policies, systems and practices, bank regulation, supervision and financial stability monitoring".

This part of the inquiry will also look at the roles of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the media, and the cost of the banking guarantee.

The second, 'nexus phase' will focus on three areas; banking systems and practices, regulatory and supervisory systems, and crises management systems.

It is hoped that it will be able to investigate all aspects of the banking collapse, but some fear that 12 months will not be enough time to examine everything.

Dublin calling...

Speaking before the Oireachtas Finance Committee yesterday, governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan again indicated that the ECB is unlikely to take part in the inquiry.

Fianna Fáil senator Thomas Byrne asked if the ECB had said: ‘Look, we’re not going to Dublin, you can forget about it,” Mr. Honohan replied that it had been: “More or less, like that."

There is a precedent for the ECB taking part in national inquiries, the bank's president Mario Draghi has appeared in front of the German, French and Spanish parliaments.

Earlier this month - responding to the publication of the written correspondence between ex-President of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet and Ireland's former Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan - Mr Draghi defended the ECB's threat to cut off Ireland's emergency funding before the country was bailed out in 2010.

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy spoke in the European Parliament today and registered his opposition to the ECB not taking part in the inquiry. He called on his fellow MEPs to put pressure on the bank to participate.

It has previously been indicated that Mr Trichet, who led the bank at the time of the bailout, will not appear before the inquiry.