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Updated 8.15pm
THE DEPARTMENT OF Finance has spent over €5 million on legal advice related to the bank guarantee scheme since 2011, according to recently-released figures.
In total some €5,080,053 has been paid to the legal firm Arthur Cox since 2011 for advice solely relating to the bank guarantee scheme which was officially ended in March this year.
The scheme has proved hugely controversial having effectively saddled the Irish taxpayer with over €64.1 billion of debt when the Fianna Fáil-led government took the unprecedented decision guarantee all assets and liabilities of Irish banks in September 2008.
Following a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has disclosed that in 2011 his department spent €1,169,614 spent with Arthur Cox for legal advice with that figure more than doubling to €2,929,427 in 2012.
So far this year, the government has paid the firm €981,012 for advice relating to the bank guarantee scheme.
The advice comes in addition to that provided by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor but Noonan said in his written answer: “However, it [the Department] also uses outside legal advisors in circumstances requiring legal services of a specific nature.”
Arthur Cox is Ireland’s largest finance practice and says on its website: “We are consistently at the forefront of many banking law developments including most recently the State Bank Guarantee.”
In addition to the legal fees paid to Arthur Cox, the Departmnet also spent over €960,000 with Matheson for “advice on transactions undertaken by the Minister in relation to Irish Life”.
Irish Life was recently sold to Canadian company Great-West Lifeco for €1.3 billion in February.
Thousands of euro was also paid out to barristers between 2011 and this year.
Barristers David Lennon and Garret Byrne earned €6,939 and €7,638 respectively in 2011 for a discovery report related to the Nyberg Commission inquiry into the collapse of the Irish banking system.
Senior counsel David Barniville and Niamh Hyland received €36,402 and €24,657 respectively for their advice related to the Credit Institutions Stabilisation Act.
This was the legislation which gave wide-ranging powers to the Minister for Finance in relation to the banks. Among other things it gave Brian Lenihan discretion to create the now defunct promissory note arrangement.
First published 2.40pm
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Hopefully the truth about these attacks will come out some day.
Agreed. Though the truth is likely to reflect very badly on the British and Irish state both of which have long track records of protecting the guilty and powerful while persecuting the innocent and powerless.
The truth is already out but it’s been swept under the carpet by our Government.. We know British agents like Robin ‘The Jackal’ Jackson carried out the attacks and serving members of the British Army helped mix the bombs. The Garda operation was stood down after only a few months which is absolutely crazy when you think over 30 people died and the attacks were the worst atrocity of the troubles. Two books have described in great detail what happened, they’ve pretty much named who carried out the attacks, who mixed the bombs, who drove the cars etc but our Government it seems wants to hush the whole thing up…..
God Help those poor people. The very least the British government must do is release any information they have to put this to rest. Politicians continuously bleating on & on about Republicans their responsibilities to own up for atrocities must put the same pressure on the British Govt.
You don’t withhold evidence & hide information without being guilty for something.
Fine Gael are withholding files on the 1972 loyalist bombings of Belturbet Co.Cavan, Clones Co.Monaghan and Pettigo Co.Donegal.
What’s that all about?
Look to was in power in Ireland back then Dermot, Therein lies your answer i`m afraid.
Another awful moment in Irish history. All those lives lost and for what?!
It’s horrors like this that remind us why the peace process is so important and worth fighting for so this can never happen again.
3500 lives lost for what?
Because of hatred @Antrim. So many people hating each other. That’s why we all need to learn to get along with each other on this island and put our hatred aside.
Society gains nothing from constantly revisiting every horrific event or constantly asserting blame and finger pointing except it feeds pain and hatred.
Of course that’s not the same as saying families of those suffering shouldn’t have their pain acknowledged.
Well that’s all these articles are doing. I see nothing on this site about Enniskillen, Birmingham, Kingsmills etc, all equally as barbaric as Dublin/Monaghan and nobody held accountable. If I mention it then I’m accused of being off topic or a troll but in reality these events are all part of the one conflict so it’s hardly off topic, they deserve to be mentioned in the same breath because one led to the other.
Unfortunately there is a history in this country of sweeping things like this under the carpet and burying the past instead of dealing with it, learning from it and trying to move forward in reconcilliation.
Everything needs to be looked at in a measured and balanced way instead of placing some victims higher than others.
@Antrim I’ve no doubt if any of those atrocities were in the news then there would be an article about them on TheJournal & I definitely wouldn’t accept that there’s a journalistic bias going on. I would agree that many of the comments here are very one sided though and filled with hatred which is wrong.
That said, by many people constantly leaving comments filled with anger and very little moderation, including yourself, nothing is achieved except for winding people up and feeding the hate filled perceptions about ‘the other side’.
As I said, we all need to try to get along and recognize when people are trying to improve things rather than constantly point to the past as a basis for the future.
I’m only writing things as most people see them, I’ve no intention of winding anybody up. Republicans don’t want to hear anything bad about the IRA, they want me to say the IRA were justified, the British and the loyalists were completely wrong and there should be a united Ireland yesterday. That’s not going to happen. I’ll accept a UI if NI ever votes yes for it but I’ll never agree that the IRA were justified, the majority of the Irish people also don’t see them as justified. They were supported by a minority within a minority in NI, that’s a fact.
If you bother to look you will find many articles online about these atrocities. Take those blinkers off!!…..
Mike , in fairness one of those links are dated back to 2011 .
Liam Cosgrove didn’t condemn the perpetrators of the crime alone, he tried to tie in Republicans and their actions in the North to the atrocity. The fact that it was carried out by Loyalist terrorists was a minor factor according to the FG/Lab government of the time.
The British Ambassador wrote back to his superiors
“There is no sign of any general anti-Northern Protestant reaction … The predictable attempt by the IRA to pin the blame on the British (British agents, the SAS, etc) has made no headway at all. … It is only now that the South has experienced violence that they are reacting in the way that the North has sought for so long. … it would be … a psychological mistake for us to rub this point in. … I think the Irish have taken the point.”
The last line stands out a mile.
Are you seriously suggesting that the widespread IRA bombing in NI had nothing to do with these attacks. Loyalists didn’t just take it upon themselves to bomb Dublin out of the blue, there was 5 years of violence in NI already when this happened. It was no different to the tit for tat violence in NI that raged on for the best part of 30 years, stop trying to insinuate that the IRA were blameless.
Antrim, I never suggested that PIRA violence had nothing to do with Loyalist violence. What I did say was that FG/Lab tried to use the bombings to beat down Republicans rather than go after the perpetrators. A bit like Republicans in the US blaming the Democrats foreign policy for the 9/11 attacks and completely letting Al Qaeda off the hook.
What is also notable is that never before or since the D/B bombings have Loyalists carried out such an attack. Also the level of sophistication in the making of the devices was beyond the capabilities of the time. The British gave up the ID’s of the suspected bombers to the Irish Government but FG/Lab didn’t want to know or follow up on it. They just did what Enda and Joan do every day in the Dail and that is blame the Republicans.
Loyalists were never at war with the Irish state, the IRA had no country. I think it was a warning to enhance border security and try and stop the IRA bombing us. See you think it was OK for IRA bombs against us daily but you are going crazy over one day of bombing in the Republic, the people of NI endured this for nearly 30 years, hundreds dead, thousands injured, economy ruined, tourism ruined. You think that’s OK though.
The IRA had a country and they were fighting a foreign power that occupied that country, that is how they saw it. Loyalists had a security force behind them to combat the PIRA yet they chose to attack a so called foreign State. Blowing people is unacceptable to the vast majority of people as is the suppression of one part of society by another. The Irish State never suppressed the rights of Loyalists.
Yes because they never got to rule over loyalists, that’s why a united Ireland was resisted. We wouldn’t have the living of a dog under an IRA ruled 32 County Republic. Thank God it wasn’t allowed to happen.
I made the point about border security because in the early days it was non existent, the Irish side of the border were asleep as the IRA ran back and forward attacking NI. Even in the mid 80′s Peter Robinson walked across the border with 500 people again to highlight the massive gaps in the security. Not too many in the south gave a damn as long as the bombs were up here and not down there, that’s a fact. You expected the loyalists not to react when the majority of those killed and injured in IRA bombs were from the loyalist/unionist community, of course there was going to be a reaction. You also justify the formation of the IRA because of loyalist attacks in 1966 so surely you can’t hold it against the loyalists for carrying out similar retaliation to that of the IRA, can you?
And the IRA had no country, they represented no government. If they had been the army of the south then it would have been easy for loyalists to bomb it daily, same way IRA bombed NI, was a clear target area, loyalists hadn’t got a clear target area, they bomb NI then they’re only bombing their own country, they bomb ROI they are only bombing an uninvolved country.
“We wouldn’t have the living of a dog under an IRA ruled 32 County Republic”
What kind of lives did catholics have under unionist rule in the 60′s 70′ and 80′s Antrim?
Oh and what country and government were all these loyalist killers representing?
Unionist rule in NI ended in 1972 Annie. Are you aware of that?
Loyalists were reacting to IRA violence against NI. Same way if you hit me I hit you back.
In name only Antrim.
I’d never hit you Antrim ;-)
From 1972 until 1999 Northern Ireland was fully ruled from London, it’s now ruled from Stormont unless there’s money involved, then it’s still ruled from London.
I wouldn’t hit you either.
It might surprise you Antrim that living in the south we also feared the IRA and what reprisals they might bring on us living near the border. We certainly didn’t regard them as fighting for us and were appalled at the carnage, murder and mayhem they were responsible for in the north.
“Loyalists didn’t just take it upon themselves to bomb Dublin out of the blue”
They most certainly did in 1969,well before the IRA started their bombing campaign.It’s been forgotten about because no one was killed.
Sure the IRA were active up here from 56-62.
That’s a lie,a whitewash and soft support for loyalist terrorism.
What were loyalists reacting against in 1966? In 1968? In 1969?
No reasonable minded individual can take a look at the timeline of the Troubles and conclude that Republicans were responsible for starting it.
Republicans were responsible for escalating it.
Brian – Stop playing Monopoly with peoples lives, it wasn’t unionists who killed our politicians and policemen during the troubles. It was the fecking IRA……
And so called Loyalists are responsible for starting it.
Get a job Mike.
What a Hypocrite…….
40k on a bad year son
Are you still lying through your teeth Antriom??
By god, you have been going at it all day
P.S.
The reason this article is in the the news today, is because it is the anniversary, no other reason,
so stop looking for reasons to go on,and on, and on , and on, about your side not being represented.
Now enough about that, back to your lies you go, like a good chap…
Welfare payments is capped at 26k. This will be reduced to 23k next year. Your Welfare/Public sector state is coming to an end…. :)
Welfare shouldn’t exist, if you’re a useless fcuk then be prepared to live as a useless fcuk. I’ll stick to farming.
I love a farmer.
There’s a job here for you mikey
Blow? Im very busy here. Thanks for the offer.
Ok
X
You can blow me
Cosgrove couldn’t have cared less about the people of the north. Happy enough to let the civilians rot up there in an apartheid state at the time. Himself and his predecessors get all high and mighty with righteousness then when they eventually take up arms. The whitewash investigation into Dublin Monaghan is the measure of what he thought of the people of the south . Westminster yes man just like them all . Tory Ireland remember how did we become more Tory than the British ? . Tory mindset. Look who’s in charge of the country again inflicting severe austerity on the population for the richy rich strangling the life and soul out of the place. Tory Heaven is ol Eiré. We’l see how long that lasts into the future.
And 41 years on The British Official Collusion in what happened continues , while ironically Cosgraves FG Government were in power then and just as now , in the present FG/Lab. Government are still of a similar disposition today – The do nothing about it – Party’s – as they were then too ???
The brit government used the loyalists to do their dirty work all through the troubles
And fine gael to help bury evidence.
…like the IRA did bodies. Or was that leaving them in boiler suits on rural roads, can’t quite remember…?
Quick question, Patrick Denny. Are you disgusted by the Old IRA too?
Don’t talk to the TEG troll, a brainwashed IRA apologist just.
Aontroim still wearing his orange tinted spectacles and blinkers.
Fine Gael are sitting on evidence about bombs planted in border towns, they refused to release them under several FOI requests….what are they hiding?
Nice mention of the IRA there buddy, deflect much?
Go away Antrim you liar
And the irish and British governments knew who done it but refused to do anything about it.
Didn’t Sinn Fein or their contacts supply confessions from the real bombers in England and the Crown Prosecution Service ignored it – They left a bomber loose – Is that not sponsoring terrorism ?
Gerry Adams wrote a letter about it in the Independent one day – he went up in my estimation a lot !
What do you do with a crowd that will knowingly leave innocent people locked up – and bombers not face justice for crimes they confessed to !
Nicky Kelly – anyone ?
Would a 21 year -old have the guts to exonerate a Nicky Kelly !
If I was President I’ be down at the Courthouse and everytime a television licence jailing would come up – I would issue a pardon.
That would put the judges in their place !
You have to be my age to understand how well written the constitution is if the right people are given the right jobs – I kid you not !
Down at the courthouse issuing pardons on evictions – forcing State banks to do what they should have done years ago – handed the discounts to the citizens across the board – instead of Vulture funds ….
A President is a very powerful thing .
Fine Gael and Labour are sealing away files on childrens homes for 75 years.
Do you really think that they are going to give up or look for files relating to their party’s role in the cover up of the murder of citizens in the Irish Republic?
To the Unionists I say this…
What if evidence is found that the British Government has been involved in the bombings ?
Does that mean that they wanted the Irish to form the I.R.A. and if so then any Unionist that was killed at the hands of the I.R.A. has the British Government to blame for the death. For they killed our people and blamed ye so we killed your people.#kinda thing.
By allowing ye to be blamed when they knew otherwise means that they allowed the I.R.A. to be unleashed on you. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and Labour are in the same boat.
That’s why neighbours should talk. Sometimes the reason they are fighting is because they have got the wrong end of the stick at the very start.
Instead of fighting with each other and listening to politicians stirring it up …… and they appointing judges and all .
I said “If” ………
Sinn Fein are calling for a Truth Commission – perhaps the Loyalists should listen.
Like all groupings of soldiers I am sure there are men of top quality among the Loyalists who understand that ultimately to win a war The real enemy has to be defeated.
Blue pill or Red Pill ?
Or Green Pill or Orange Pill?
Always a divide – maybe those who occupy the white aint that clean.
And the same groupings stand and the same groupings get elected.
The bombings that day were carried out by, among others, UDR sergeant Billy Hannah, UDR corporal Robert McConnell, Billy Fulton, William Merchant and Robin Jackson (a sectarian psychopath responsible for more than 100 murders). Some of the above names if not all had special “relationships” with British Intelligence and/or RUC Special Branch. The bombs were put together on RUC reservist James Mitchell’s farm in Glenanne. Neither government has ever shown any interest in bringing any of the perpetrators to justice.
I suppose the real story is – Is how well did the police forces on both sides investigate these atrocities ?
They knew all about the Harry Breen execution …..but nothing about this .
Perhaps there is only so far certain politicians can push the cops .
The one thing I do know is that if Sinn Fein get within a whiff of Government – their grass roots will force these documents open – Who investigated – how far did it go …
And regardless of who is at the top of Sinn Fein this is one thing they cannot steer clear from – nor why would they – they have been shouldered with a lot of the blame –
All the security resources – clean and dirty , pitted against the Catholic terrorists – Section 31 ….
Keep the spotlight of other questions ..knowingly or unknowingly .
Who’s head of R.T.E. news again?
Will SF also come clean about their own past or will they just take a biased stance and investigate everybody else. Personally I’d like to see the perpetrators of Kingsmills and Enniskillen arrested but it’s not going to happen is it, SF know who carried out these incidents but they aren’t giving up the perpetrators, why?
Sinn Féin have repeatedly asked for a truth and reconciliation commission tone set up to give victims and their families some peace and some closure. As regards Kingsmills, Enniskillen etc, the exact same applies.
Google “the affidavit of John Weir”, and have a read of it. Nasty stuff.
The reason for the bombing was because the British Government and FG decided to place the bombs in Dublin and blame IRA over it. The Brits wanted people to turn against the IRA as part of there propaganda to use during the conflict. They help wee willie frazer gang (Glenanne Gang that made up of UDR, RUC and UVF) to make the bomb’s and plant them as they told FG not to do anything and stop the Gardia from investigation into bombings as FG aloud the Glenanne gang members back North. After that the FG and the British government planned to blame it all on the IRA as part of there propaganda war.
Are you for real, FG helped plant the bombs? You really need to update your tinfoil hat. British forces combined with UDR, FRU, and others set the bombs to change the tone in the Dáil, where there was an acceptance of the fact that Republicans were fighting for a cause. There was little policing of republicans in the South, which also meant there were very little resources to find out who caused the bombings. We had a Garda Ballistics section near Heuston Station, but all forensics in those days were sent to UK specialist labs, as we still do with DNA testing to this day. All Garda comms were monitored by GCHQ so it was simple to divert the returning bombers away from checkpoints, and the fastest car the Gardaí had, Zephyr 6, was confined to certain high ranking duties in most cases. Gardaí then were mainly local police, with only a small number even trained on weapons by the Army. The army were never happy about this, as they didn’t think Gardaí treated weapons with respect, there were many incidents of accidental discharge of weapons.
Eoin, you need to work on your spelling before you start posting comments on a public forum.
*Their
*Allowed
I said that FG covered it up and know who did the bombings but will not tell anyone because they helped the British Government.
It’s unfortunate you chose to include the craven comments of Liam Cosgrave at the time, which were a disgraceful attempt to muddy the waters, include republicans in the blame and get dubious political advantage from this attack on the people of Dublin and Monaghan.
Two of us had just finished a weeks training in Cork, and I was driving us home in my VW Beetle, which like most small cars of the time, had no radio. We hit Fermoy, a Garda checkpoint, but only in the Dublin direction. A young Garda came to my window, asked where we were heading, & on hearing Dublin said ‘I’d stay away if I were you, they’ve blown the f^#k out of it’. On hearing all our family was from the inner city he waved us through ahead of the rest of the travellers.
I drove like a maniac, my workmates dug an FM radio out of the back seat bags, and we listened to solemn music interspersed with some news every 15 mins on Radio Éireann, as it was then. At every checkpoint we were waved through, and driving at around 85-90 mph eventually hit his flat in Ballybough first. His wife who normally went into Talbot St. shopping with the baby, had called to her mother who was down with flu.
I called to my in-laws next, my father-in-law worked, like me, for P&T, but in O’Connell St. and normally went for a drink in The Earl Madigan, as it was called then, with a crowd of workmates. However he decided to leave it as he had a tummy upset. He told me my wife and child were fine. She would normally walk into town from Glasnevin with our baby son to meet dad for a glass of Guinness, but decided to visit her sister in Ballymun instead. They had told their dad, so I knew everything was safe for us.
So out of a potential catastrophe for both of us that day we ended up with no casualties in immediate family, but had some nasty maimed among our P&T colleagues.
Excellent Story John, Brings it home in plain words What a lot of people went through on that day, I`m glad to hear that
tragedy bypassed your family that day, but sad to hear that not everyone was so lucky.
I remember it well. Was in Marino Teacher Training College. Heard two or three dull thuds like distant thunder. News then filtered through. Scary time. Very tense atmosphere in the city.
And Michael Martin try’s to tell us there was no war. The man is a raving lunatic.
Everyone should get the book Lethal Allies by Anne Cadwalleder. A sickening read.
#jft34.
If today was 17th of May 1974, I’d be joining the IRA tomorrow!
That woke me up
Cosgrave was right. Anyone who preached, practiced or condoned violence must share responsibility. This bit seems to be lost on the IRA cheerleaders…
Maybe you should think about why there was an IRA in the first place.
Oppression breads resistance O’Reilly.
You’re a loyalist cheerleader troll, you and Denis O Briens siteservants in fine gael covered up this and other atrocities, given fine gaels history of cowardice and naivety one could suggest that they were told to cover it up, it’s no suprise you’re hear trying to deflect away from this story, typical fg cowardice.
Siteserv.
And yet still no justice for the families. Maybe it’s because the British state colluded with Loyalist terrorists and know that of the real truth came out they would have alot to answer for.
It’s scary to think the British hold themselves in such high regard when it comes to international issues. The British empire were terrorists plain and simple, they raped, enslaved and murdered people for centuries. But it’s acceptable nowadays because that was in the past, well that’s the way the ordinary Joe Bloggs over there thinks and I doubt many of them know their (real) history anyway. The Irish are seen as Terrorists and potato farmers and the Germans are seen as Nazi’s etc.
The SF/IRA gang will be on here suggesting that the past is the past and it is time to move forward.
It is time to move on. You are correct in that matter. But how do you move on without giving the victims and their families the truth? When the people of Derry were given the truth about Bloody Sunday, it was as if an open wound had been sealed. Why are both governments afraid of the truth? What dark and disgusting secrets are they withholding? Truth is something all victims of the troubles deserve. Truth will help us all move on from the past.
Siteserv.
You honestly trying to turn a story of loyalist terrorism and fine gael cover ups into an anti Sinn Fein rant?
Haha…you’re pathetic.
Tap – Lyons – Solny,
So it was the IRA that bombed Dublin & Monaghan was it ?
You are a really really scary deranged ‘human being’ – How can you continue to peddle that bile on these pages ?
You should be ashamed of yourself and your deluge of constant porky pies !
This adds some perspective to the timing of the Marriage Redefinition Referendum.
I’d love a truth commission that would tell us where in bogs and beaches bodies are buried, the links between terrorists and their current political wings, where the paedos were moved, who the torturers were, who was involved then that is involved now and how and that this is put in front of the electorate.
Off topic troll.
How so? Several comments looking for a truth commission to get to the bottom of this, just making a similar remark. Try reading the comment and get a doctor to have a look at your jerky knee.
Try to avoid reading between the lines and actually read was it written, not what you would like it to say. The article is about British state involvement in the murder of the innocents and their reluctance to disclose the information.
He’s very much on topic, you just don’t like it because it’s an anti IRA comment.
The british are the cause of conflict on this island
Republican not accepting Northern Ireland was the cause of the troubles.
Which the british created when they partitioned ireland.
So what? You’re IRA signed the treaty ffs.
Under threat
How? Sure they boast of beating the British do they not?
The facts don’t lie the british were the oppressor’s the irish were the victim’s
The IRA wernt the victims though, they were victim creators.
If the british had not invaded ireland there would be no victim’s
See if that excuse stands up in court the next time a republican terrorist is charged with murder.
Still a liar Antriom
Nope
Here’s a couple of questions to the Republicans –
Would SF/IRA give up files/info on Irish republican massacres such as Kingsmills/Enniskillen/La Mon in exchange for files on Dublin/Monaghan being released?
Would they be the first to give up info as a gesture of good will in order to get the ball rolling on the release of information?
Here’s an idea pal: would both governments just set up a truth and reconciliation commission where all the truth can be put on the table? Only then can the past truly be consigned to history and the people of this island can move forward together.
Missed it by approximately 1 minute
We should also remember that forty one years ago, just two months before the Monaghan bombing, FG Senator Billy Fox was murdered by an IRA gang while visiting his girlfriends house in Co. Monaghan.
Not much said about that these days and swept under the carpet.
Every Irish Government including enda the spineless git failgael government are afraid to push for the truth .
My late father missed being murdered on Talbot Street by a couple of minutes on his way down to Connolly Station on that infamous date. To this day the British government hides the truth about mass murder and is aided and abetted in the cover up by Enda Kenny and his colleagues. Why? Because it’s an inconvenient truth that upsets the great neighbours and friends narrative. What price integrity, courage and true leadership and having the backbone to at the very least assert the human rights of ordinary people?
Remember an old boss of mine who was walking near the Dublin bombing that day telling me of body parts flying past him when the bomb went off. Got very emotional over it poor chap when he was telling it.
have your say