By Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish lawmakers will question former European Central Bank (ECB) governor Jean-Claude Trichet and the executives at the helm of Ireland's banks when they imploded, as a parliamentary inquiry enters its most politically-sensitive stage.
While Ireland's economy is growing faster than any other in Europe and the government has begun recouping some of the billions of euros it sunk into its banks, the euro zone's most expensive bank rescue is still a sore and hotly debated subject.
The inquiry can recommend changes to the law, but coming a year before elections it provides an opportunity for government lawmakers and members of Sinn Fein, the country's most popular opposition party, to rehash old controversies and berate the centre-right Fianna Fail party, which presided over the crisis.
The hearings, which began in December and have so far mostly featured academics, will hear from ex-Prime Minister Brian Cowen and other former members of Fianna Fail before findings are presented in November.
Trichet, who will appear in Dublin next week, will be quizzed on the pressure Frankfurt put on Ireland to enter into a sovereign bailout in 2010 after a devastating property crash ravaged the economy and the now mostly state-owned banks.
His appearance comes at a time when the ECB is once again at the centre of a crisis as Greek banks rely on its approval for emergency funding to keep them afloat.
Irish taxpayers had to stump up 64 billion euros - equivalent to almost 40 percent of annual economic output - to rescue the banks and many voters are frustrated that executives, regulators and politicians have not been held accountable.
The inquiry will be the first time some of the former heads of Ireland's banks including Eugene Sheehy of Allied Irish Banks (I:ALBK) and Brian Goggin of Bank of Ireland (I:BKIR) appear in front of parliament since they stood down in a sector-wide clear out six years ago.
No date has been set yet for Cowen's appearance. The former Prime Minister, who was also finance minister during Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" boom years, resigned as Fianna Fail leader ahead of a 2011 election when it suffered a record defeat.
Following a stalled recovery, the once dominant party of Irish politics lies third in most opinion polls behind Prime Minister Enda Kenny's Fine Gael and Sinn Fein.