The Labour Party is to table a Private Members Motion in the Dáil calling for a 'comprehensive parliamentary inquiry' into the banking crisis.

Party leader Eamon Gilmore said the party would also next week publish a Bill designed to address what he called 'defects' in current legislation governing the powers of the Dáil and Seanad to conduct inquiries into important issues.

HARRY McGEE Political Correspondent

SEVERAL SENIOR Government figures have now ruled out holding a public inquiry into the banking crisis any time in the immediate future.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said yesterday such an investigation was not an immediate priority for the Government, strongly indicating such a vehicle would not be established during 2010.

Manufacturing activity in the euro zone expanded at its fastest rate in 21 months in December, in line with the flash estimate published last month, but new orders growth slowed slightly, a survey showed today.

Overall manufacturing activity in Germany expanded at its fastest pace since May 2008, although slower than previously expected, while France and Italy also saw activity tick up from November.

Italian production saw its best performance in 27 months.

Monday, 4 January 2010 08:25

New figures show that activity in the manufacturing sector continued to fall in December despite a rise in new orders.

The NCB Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by research group Markit, recorded 48.8 last month, unchanged from November. Any figure below 50 means activity was weaker, and this has been the case for just over two years.

Employment levels fell for the 25th month in a row, though the figure of 45.4 was the best since May 2008.

LAURA SLATTERY

FOUR COMPANIES a day went out of business in 2009, with a similar rate of insolvency expected for most of 2010, according to new data compiled by InsolvencyJournal.ie.

The figures show that 1,406 Irish businesses were declared insolvent last year, as hundreds of construction companies were joined by household names such as O’Brien’s Sandwich Bars and Budget Travel on the list of liquidations.

By Joe Brennan

Thursday December 31 2009

IRISH mortgage lenders' reliance on short-term funding from the European Central Bank (ECB) dropped 18pc to €34bn in November as wholesale funding markets continued to thaw 14 months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Home loan providers were using around €2bn of ECB funds to finance their activities before the US subprime crisis erupted in August 2007. But the figure had shot up to €39bn a month after Lehmans imploded, before peaking at a record €72bn last June.

27 December 2009 By Cliff Taylor

The government is preparing to take a significant stake in both AIB and Bank of Ireland, by converting some of its preference shares in the banks into ordinary shares.
The move is expected in the new year, as part of a programme to recapitalise the two main banks. The government injected €3.5 billion into each of the banks last year, and will now use these funds to take the significant shareholdings.