The word from the Department of Enterprise, Employment and Trade is that authorised officer Gerard Ryan and his colleague Peter Fischer are the busiest men in the house.

Ryan is responsible as authorised officer for the inquiry into the Ansbacher deposits, while Fischer is looking into Garuda, the company which owned Michael Lowry's firm, Streamline, although in practice the two accountants will work together.

Already in receipt of 40 arch lever files from Irish Intercontinental Bank, even more from Guinness & Mahon and goodness knows what else, the two officers have a busy few months ahead of the them. No doubt they won't be accepting any invitations from the fourth estate to go out for a few pints.