Ordinary taxpayers will be completely shocked to learn today that they are to bail Anglo Irish Bank out with a further €2b.

This follows the €4b injection in 2009 and the €8.3 b made available by way of a Promissory Note to the Bank on the 31st March 2010.

The Minister threatened at time of his March speech that he was considering putting a further €10bn into the failed bank, and this is clearly the first instalment.

Today’s announcement comes on top of reports at the weekend that Aidan Eames, a former Fianna Fail handler, who was nominated as an interregnum Senator by Charles Haughey, has been appointed by the Government to the Board of Anglo, along with former AIB board member Gary Kennedy. It is not clear what the basis of Mr Eames’ appointment to this position actually is.

At the time of blanket bank guarantee Minister Lenihan and the Taoiseach said it would be the cheapest guarantee around, and that it would effectively cost the taxpayer nothing. So far it has cost us €14.3b in relation to Anglo alone, in direct injections, paid for by government borrowing which will make our debt figures look weaker.

In addition, the bank has already transferred the first €15.3b on development loans to NAMA at a discount of about 50 per cent. The chairman of NAMA has spoken of the horrifying condition of many of these loans, with the implication that recovery of monies from the sale of NAMA properties will be far less than the optimistic Mr Lenihan has indicated.

Anglo Irish Bank, along with Irish Nationwide remain at the rotten heart of Fianna Fail’s approach to the rescuing of their friends in banking ad developer communities.