Department of Finance to spend €160k on a history book that stops before bailout

The Department of Finance has come under fire for spending €160,000 on an official history which will leave out the property bubble, the bank guarantee and the bailout programme.

The history is being written for the department’s 100th anniversary in 2022 as part of the state’s decade of commemorations.

But it will only cover the period from 1958 up till 1999, which will exclude many of the key financial events the department has ...