Ms Francesca McDonagh:

I thank the Deputy for the clarification on the question. Obviously, there is a precedent for this in the public domain in the form of our competitor's acquisition of Goodbody. My sources are media reports in the public domain as much as the Deputy's, but my understanding is that AIB is able to maintain the remuneration of those in the entity it has acquired and that a small number of AIB executives may be transferred. Obviously, I am here to talk about Bank of Ireland, but that is in the public domain. I will keep this quite generic because it is just not appropriate for me to talk about a third party whose process has not started. If Bank of Ireland were to acquire an entity in which bonuses and variable remuneration are paid in a normalised way, as in the case of every other non-Irish bank and corporate entity in Ireland, and it is only Irish banks that have this restriction, then I would certainly look at opportunities to normalise pay. Even if there is no acquisition, in our annual report - and I appreciate the Deputy has a response to this - there was a letter from our group chairman that referred to the need to revisit normalisation of remuneration. We have repaid the taxpayer in full. Irish banks are severely restricted and treated uncompetitively compared with our normal Irish peers, with whom we compete for talent and customers here in Ireland, and with other banks in Europe and the UK and other Irish entities, with which we compete for digital, finance and customer service skills. I appreciate, given where the economy is now, that to talk about bankers' bonuses is highly contentious. If, however, I just step back and think about the future and the recovery of this economy, having Irish-only banks restricted in a way in which other banks in Ireland are not is anti-competitive and makes it very difficult for us to retain and attract key talent, which we need for a profitable and sustainable Irish banking sector.