Ministers will meet to discuss the fallout after the Commission's chairman said he didn't have the power to demand the necessary documents from the bank.
The government had hoped the Commission of Investigation into IBRC would be able to do its business behind closed doors, and issue a report at Christmas to put the issue to bed for good.
But today the government will discuss the prospect that the inquiry will now be delayed until AFTER the election – and consider last-ditch efforts to get it back on track.
Emergency laws could be among the measures considered – but it's not clear exactly how much success they could have, or whether they could apply retrospectively.
That might mean the commission would have to be collapsed and reconvened – but even doing that might not get around the constitutional issues at play.
This morning's also be the first time that ministers will have been able to hear from the Attorney General, Máire Whelan.
The opposition are wondering why the legal problems around client privilege weren't flagged earlier – and whether she should have been able to deal with them before now.
