AIB chief, Australian Mike Aynsley, earned almost €1 million last year. (Pic: Julien Behal/PA)

A round-up of the figures surrounding Ireland’s banking crisis.

• €70,000,000,000 — the promised final bill for cleaning up Ireland’s banking mess.

• €24,000,000,000 — the latest tranche of cash needed to plug the hole left by rogue bankers — and the last, the Central Bank vows.

• 1922 — the last time Ireland faced a crisis of this magnitude, the Civil War, claims Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

• Six — the number of homegrown Irish banks covered by a controversial State guarantee scheme in September 2008.

• Two — the number of those lenders left standing as fully operating banks after an overhaul ordered by the new coalition government.

• €35 billion euro — the estimated final cost of shutting the doors on Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide.

• Almost €1 million — Anglo Irish chief executive Mike Aynsley’s pay package last year, including salary, benefits and pension payments.

• €17.7 billion euro — Anglo’s losses last year — a record in Irish corporate history.

• Five — the number of times after today’s announcement the Government has now claimed a line has been drawn under banking crisis.

• 44,000 — number of Irish households three months or more in arrears on mortgage repayments — on loans valued at €8.6 billion.

• 7,000 — banking jobs to go by end of year, since the crisis struck in 2008.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin leaving Government Buildings in Dublin. Taoiseach Brian Cowen warned opponents that there was no vacancy in his office as he offered to sit down with disgruntled party colleagues over his under-fire leadership. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Taoiseach Brian Cowen warned opponents last night (Thursday) that there was no vacancy in his office as he offered to sit down with disgruntled party colleagues over his under-fire leadership.

Amid anger and embarrassment over his connections to senior Anglo-Irish officials as the bank collapsed, Mr Cowen admitted concerns needed to be addressed.

The Taoiseach will face a vote of no confidence in the Dail within weeks.

“I have not considered resigning. I have not said to anyone I’m stepping down,” the Taoiseach said.

He added: “I am committed to leading this party, there is no vacancy, there is no probationary period. I am the leader of the party.”

Mr Cowen refused to be drawn on the prospect that he might resign. “I am having a discussion with colleagues about these matters and until that is completed I can’t say to you beyond that what the situation will be,” he told RTÉ’s Six One News .

“As leader of the party I will sit down with them in an atmosphere of mutual respect and solidarity and decide what I believe to be the collective view of the party. And that’s my job because if concerns are raised, I will address them. I will do that swiftly over the next 24 hours.”

Mr Cowen is expecting concerned TDs and Senators to contact him by phone over the next 48 hours.

Matters came to a head after the Taoiseach was publicly grilled in the Dail yesterday on his Anglo contacts.

Under pressure, he revealed the names of two other business chiefs who joined him and bankrupt former Anglo chairman Sean FitzPatrick for dinner in Druid’s Glen – Gary McGann, chief executive of Smurfit Kappa, who was a director of Anglo at the time, and Alan Gray, an economic consultant who was on the board of the Central Bank.

Coalition partner the Green Party said it has concerns about the new detail.

Mr Cowen refused to accept there was anything inappropriate about the Druid’s Glen engagement or that he should have been more open about his dealings with Anglo executives.

“Is there any suggestion or any evidence that I did anything wrong? That’s not the way I operate,” he said.

“Throughout my time in politics I’ve sought to do the very best by the country, doing my job conscientiously.

“People can be open to criticism on a whole range of things but I tell you one thing – I never did one thing nor am I beholden to anybody throughout my public life.”

Mr Cowen addressed a delayed Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting with 10 minutes of fighting talk where one insider claimed he “put it up” to his opponents.

No Cabinet minister asked him to step down, he said.

Mr Cowen warned opponents to follow party rules if they wanted to oust him – 18 signatures are needed to force a leadership vote. He then said he would talk to TDs and Senators personally.

The Taoiseach has faced four days of intense scrutiny and attack amid revelations of previously undisclosed meetings – a golf game, dinner and a phone call – with bankrupt Mr FitzPatrick in 2008.

It is understood five TDs spoke on the leadership and three challenged Mr Cowen.

Noel O’Flynn TD, who spoke at the meeting, said he asked the Taoiseach if any Cabinet ministers approached him regarding his position.

“What he has done is said that he’s leader,” Mr O’Flynn said.

“I think he’s going to consult himself widely with people and the party at large as well.”

Michael Kennedy, Dublin North TD, claimed the Taoiseach promised to engage with the full party membership, come back next week and indicate whether he should lead the party.

He said the Taoiseach has not communicated well and said he would be telling him so.

“I will be articulating the view that the Taoiseach has not articulated as much as he should and the perception of him out in the street is one that he has to consider seriously,” Mr Kennedy said.

Earlier, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, who has been spoken of as a leadership contender, said TDs were anxious and concerned about the election and the future of the party.

“Naturally there is a very vigorous internal debate within the party,” the minister said during a trip to Belfast.

The most recent Red C opinion poll put Fianna Fail at just 14% – a record low.

Sinn Fein TD Caoimhghin O Caolain, who leads a newly formed Technical Group in the Dail, tabled the Dail motion of no confidence in the Government.

“No effort must be spared to remove them from office,” he said.

It may be as late as March before the motion can be heard.

Michael Lowry, one of two Independent TDs who hold a balance of power in the Dail, warned he would not vote for a new Fianna Fail Taoiseach if Mr Cowen stands down.

Twelve Fianna Fail TDs have announced their retirement from politics in recent weeks.

With an election due inside the next two months, backbencher Mary O’Rourke dismissed speculation of a leadership heave, insisting: “It’s far too late. I hate saying it but we are where we are.”

An immediate election is in prospect if Mr Cowen steps down as party leader. It is likely he would remain as acting Taoiseach until after the election when the new Dáil would select his replacement. Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, is regarded as one of the favourites to succeed Mr Cowen.

Labour TD Roisin Shortall said leadership wranglings showed the Government was totally dysfunctional.

“The longer they cling to power, the longer the process of national recovery will be delayed,” she said.

Bankers Sean FitzPatrick and David Drumm are to be hauled before an accountancy watchdog tribunal, it was revealed yesterday (Monday).

The former Anglo Irish Bank bosses have cases to answer about their roles in controversial transactions at the rogue lender, said the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board (Carb).

Willie McAteer, Anglo’s former finance director and Peter Fitzpatrick, ex-finance director at Irish Life and Permanent, will also be summoned to the disciplinary hearings – which may be heard in public.

A spokesman said the regulatory board could go to the High Court to compel the former bankers – who are all chartered accountants – to attend the inquiry if they refuse to co-operate.

They face suspension or expulsion from Chartered Accountants Ireland as well as fines up to 30,000 euro if found guilty of misconduct.

Mr FitzPatrick, former chairman of Anglo Irish, faces questions about the temporary transfer of his loans so they did not appear on the bank’s financial statements.

An investigation found Mr FitzPatrick also has a case to answer about his role in transactions between Anglo and Irish Life at key dates in 2008 and in relation to a loan made to Mr McAteer in 2008.

But he will not be quizzed by the tribunal about the loans made to 10 customers of Anglo Irish Bank – known as the Golden Circle – to buy shares in the bank.

John Purcell, former Comptroller and Auditor General who was appointed special investigator by Carb, said Mr FitzPatrick had no case to answer on the deal.

The tribunal will look to question former Anglo chief executive Mr Drumm about the transfer of Mr FitzPatrick’s loans and their non-appearance in the Anglo books.

He also faces questions about transactions with Irish Life, the amendment of the terms of loans to the Golden Circle, loans to four key management personnel and the loan to Mr McAteer in 2008.

Again, it was decided he had no case to answer about loans made to 10 top customers to buy shares in the bank.

Mr McAteer will be summoned over his role in the temporary transfer of loans of Mr FitzPatrick and their non-disclosure in financial statements, transactions with Irish Life and the appropriate disclosure of a loan made by Anglo to him in September 2008.

Peter Fitzpatrick will be quizzed about his part in transactions between Anglo and Irish Life on key reporting dates in 2008.

The hearings are likely to be held at the end of March or April.

A Carb spokesman said requests can be made to have part or all of the hearings held in private but grounds for such applications would have to be exceptional.

All four men will now be sent the summary evidence against them and will be asked to respond with their case ahead of the tribunal. They are entitled to have legal representation.

Separate investigations into Anglo, including probes by the Garda Fraud Squad, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Financial Regulator, the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority and the bank itself are ongoing.

More than 350 bankers and others linked to the finance sector have been interviewed by the fraud squad over alleged white collar crime at Anglo-Irish Bank.

The massive inquiry by Garda detectives and corporate investigators is probing 10 strands of financial activity at the nationalised lender and seized 100,000 documents.

Dermot Ahern, Justice Minister, said the investigation has been extended outside Ireland.

“The reprehensible events at Anglo Irish Bank have caused enormous damage to our country,” he said.

“There is a clear and overwhelming public interest that, where it is shown that anyone involved in those events broke the law, they should face justice.”

The mammoth trawl, headed by Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne and the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Paul Appleby, will examine thousands of emails, phone calls and bank records.

The team is made up of 27 gardai and 16 officers from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. The DPP has also retained two Senior Counsel and one junior to advise investigators.

Two arrests have been made – former chief executive Sean FitzPatrick and financial director William McAteer – but no charges have been brought.

Mr Ahern told the Dail: “I well understand that the fury of people at what happened at the bank. There is understandable indignation that no-one has yet been brought before the courts.

“It would, however, do a huge disservice to those people to pretend that there is some simple or quick way of dealing with this matter that will be effective.

“What is important is that what happened is systematically and forensically investigated as quickly as possible, with a view to presenting cases to the Director of Public Prosecutions. That is exactly what is happening – without fear or favour.”

Two main strands of investigation include the so-called bed and breakfast loan of seven billion euro from Irish Life & Permanent to Anglo to shore up the deposit book and loans to a golden circle of 10 to buy shares in the bank helping sustain the stock value.

Mr Appleby said in March it would be several months before the investigation would be complete.

A disgruntled builder blocked the entrance to the the Dáil on Wednesday after he drove a cement mixer into the front gates.

A 41-year-old man was arrested after a lorry, emblazoned with the words “Toxic Bank Anglo”, clipped the iron barriers and was abandoned.

No one was injured and the only damage was scuff marks on the black painted gates.

A spokesman for the Houses of the Oireachtas said the truck protest would not affect proceedings on the first day of the new term.

Witnesses said the lorry driver stopped just short of ramming the gates of Leinster House, on Kildare Street, before he climbed on the roof of his cab while Gardaí smashed its windows with batons.

Carol Treacy, owner of the Petit Cafe opposite the Dáil, said she was preparing for business when the drama unfolded just after 7am.

“I heard a big air brake sound. I thought it was the coffee machine,” she said.

“I went outside and saw a big, huge cement truck had just drove straight up to Leinster House gates and a female Garda was calling for help.

“This guy just hopped out of the cab, locked it and just hopped on a ladder and got on top of the truck.”

Ms Treacy said there was a large Garda presence at the Dáil within minutes, with officers attempting to coax the lone protester down before he handed himself in without a struggle.

“There were police everywhere, but it was all very calm,” she said.

“They were just trying to get him down. He wasn’t shouting or being abusive or anything, he was just standing on top of the truck. The guards were telling him to get down.”

Crowds of passers-by and commuters gathered at the scene shortly after the incident.

“Some people were very sympathetic towards him. He was just a lone protester and it was quite a dramatic way to protest,” Ms Treacy added.

A female Garda officer and security staff were on duty when the builder drove up and abandoned the lorry, which had the registration “Bankrupt”.

“Toxic Bank Anglo” was painted in giant red letters along the white rolling barrel of the cement truck.

It is understood the brakes in the truck were disabled, immobilising the cement lorry.

A large recovery tow truck was given a Garda escort through the city centre as mechanics tried to shift the vehicle with specialist equipment before TDs arrived for the new session.

The 41-year-old man suspected of driving the truck was charged over the incident outside Leinster House.

He is being held in Pearse Street Garda Station and is due to appear at Dublin District Court, in the Criminal Courts of Justice.

In April, a cement mixer truck, with similar wording on it, was abandoned outside a branch of Anglo Irish Bank on Forster Street, Galway. The cabin was locked and the engine left running.

Fergus O’Dowd, TD with opposition party Fine Gael, claimed the on-duty Garda had to jump out of the way of the truck.

“If it had been later in the morning, staff could have been killed, public could have been killed,” said the opposition politician, who was first at the scene.

“I think it’s a very serious incident and I think it’s an appalling vista to be doing your job as a garda or usher in Dáil Éireann and to be seriously injured.”

The protest was linked to controversial plans by the Irish Government to plough more than 20 billion euro into State-owned Anglo Irish Bank.

The full cost to the taxpayer of the bail out is to be announced tomorrow.

Its former chairman, Séan FitzPatrick, was declared bankrupt in July – owing the institution about 110 million euro .

The ex-banker, who resigned from Anglo in December 2008 following a loans scandal, is also at the centre of a massive fraud and corporate mismanagement investigation by the Garda and watchdog Paul Appleby, the director of corporate enforcement.

Ireland’s economic woes have caused ripples on the international markets after ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has said the final bill for Anglo Irish Bank is getting closer to its estimate of €35bn and could still exceed that.

Should this happen, S&P analyst Trevor Cullinan told RTE, another downgrade of Ireland’s rating is possible.

The comments sent the cost of insuring Irish sovereign debt against default to a record high.

Five-year credit default swaps on Irish Government debt rose to 519 basis points, versus 488.5 basis points in New York on Tuesday, according to data monitor CMA.

This means it costs €519,000 to protect €10m of exposure to Irish bonds. S&P said if the agency’s current €35bn estimate of the cost of supporting Anglo Irish Bank were exceeded, there could be further downward ratings action.

The Taoiseach reacted by saying it is important people recognise the challenges facing the Irish economy.

Brian Cowen said The National Treasury Management Agency has confirmed Ireland is funded up to the middle of next year.

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said Ireland’s coalition government is satisfied that it will see out its full term despite a rocky period.
“We’re satisfied that we will go the full distance,” Mr Martin said.

“Obviously in this economic turbulent period, you will have rocky rides and issues will arise but we are very, very determined to see this through for the benefit of the country.”

Meanwhile, Eurozone emergency funding for Ireland is not being considered, European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj has said.

Asked if there was a chance that Ireland would tap the euro zone’s €440bn emergency fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) set up to help eurozone members who have problems financing themselves on the market, Altafaj said: “The issue is not being considered.”

He added the EC was confident that Dublin would do what is necessary to retain market confidence.

To get money from the EFSF, Dublin would have to request such aid, and the application would have to be reviewed by the Commission and the European Central Bank. Eurozone finance ministers would have the final say.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan tonight stood accused of presiding over the most expensive bank bailout in the world as nationalised Anglo Irish Bank reported €8.2 billion losses.

The massive blackhole for the first half of the year was twice as bad as experts predicted, prompting calls for the Government to pull the plug on the €23 billion survival plan.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the final bill for saving Anglo would be known within weeks.

But Michael Noonan, Fine Gael finance spokesman, said €6 billion of taxpayers’ money could be saved if an orderly wind-down was started now.

“Minister Lenihan must now give a definitive figure for the cost of saving Anglo Irish. Taxpayers have a right to know,” he said.

Mr Noonan added: “It’s not too late for Minister Lenihan to change course and adopt Fine Gael’s policy.

“Billions of euros have already been wasted on the bank, but Fine Gael believes up to €6 billion of taxpayers’ money could still be saved if Minister Lenihan began an orderly wind-down of Anglo Irish.”

Mr Lenihan said: “I can understand the anger and frustration which citizens have when they witness the scale of the losses in this institution but it must be understood that management and the Board are working very hard as are the Government and EU authorities to bring certainty and finality to this problem.”

Joan Burton, Labour Party finance spokeswoman, said the Minister has been proven wrong on every major decision taken on the banking crisis.

“The taxpayers were reassured at the time that this would be the cheapest bank bailout in the world. Instead it has turned out to be probably the most expensive,” she said.

“The ongoing Anglo saga is corrosive to national morale and deeply damaging to our standing abroad.

“The Government should accept that the game is up on Anglo and commit itself to the orderly wind-down of the bank at the earliest possible date.”

Anglo chairman Alan Dukes said the preferred plan inside the bank was to split it with 80% wound up and a new viable bank created from the remaining good quality loan assets.

The state-run bank, which has been funded by €23 billion of taxpayers’ money, said it expects further losses as more troubled assets are shifted off the bank’s books.

A breakdown of the six monthly returns showed it transferred €10 billion of assets to Ireland’s state controlled bad-bank, the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), set up to try to clean up loan books of Irish lenders.

The bank said it suffered loan impairment charges of €4.8 billion and a loss of €3.5 billion euro over the transfer.

Anglo already holds the unenviable record for posting the largest losses in Irish corporate history last year, one of the biggest losses in world banking and now one of the worst half-year performances of any Irish company.

Anglo said it had an operating profit of €151 million euro before the costs of impairments and losses on disposals to Nama hit home.

The bank’s last results, issued in March for the 15 months to the end of 2009, showed losses of €12.7 billion – the highest in Irish corporate history.

International finance commentators at ratings agency Standard & Poor’s last week warned that Anglo could ultimately cost the state €35 billion.

Arthur Morgan, Sinn Fein finance spokesman, said the Greens should demand the plug is pulled on Anglo.

“Fianna Fail have nationalised the losses of their banking and developer cronies and the revelation that Anglo incurred an 8.2 billion euro loss for the first half of this year is the nail in the coffin for the Government’s banking strategy,” Mr Morgan said.