The Oireachtas banking inquiry has told three former Anglo Irish Bank executives that they must appear before the committee to answer questions about their roles in the banking crisis.

Lawyers acting for Anglo’s former chairman Seán FitzPatrick and executives John Bowe and Pat Whelan had sought to have their clients excused from appearing at the inquiry due to their involvement in various legal cases relating to the bank.

“Having considered these applications, the committee concluded that it would not withdraw the directions to those witnesses,” the committee said in a statement yesterday.

It added that under the terms of the act covering the inquiry, the witnesses have the option of applying to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a declaration requiring the committee to withdraw the directions that they appear.

“The committee has informed those witnesses of this right,” the statement said.

Mr Bowe has been directed to appear at the committee on July 24th, while Mr FitzPatrick and Mr Whelan are listed to attend on July 29th.

Testimony

The inquiry will hear tomorrow from Ann Nolan, second secretary general at the Department of Finance, Donal McNally, a former second secretary general at the department, and Charlie McCreevy, who was minister for finance from 1997 to 2004.

Inquiry chairman Ciarán Lynch said Mr McCreevy would be questioned on a range of issues, including the roles and accountability among the regulatory and supervisory institutions of the State and the relationship between the Central Bank, the Department of Finance and banking institutions.