The Finance Minister Michael Noonan says he will not be advising the Oireachtas banking inquiry on how to conduct its investigations.

Mr Noonan was responding to a question about whether Jean-Claude Trichet should speak to it.

Mr Trichet was head of the European Central Bank (ECB) during the Irish banking collapse.

He has previously said he will not appear before the inquiry.

Members of the committee will gather for a private meeting today, but public hearings are not expected to begin for a number of months.

Mr Noonan says he hopes everyone involved will cooperate, but he will not be offering any advice on how it should be carried out.

And he says the inquiry will have plenty of time to conduct its work.