Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I indicated earlier I would be interested in the views of the House on the appropriate type of person to appoint to the public interest panel. Deputy Pat Rabbitte is correct that their duty will be to promote the public interest but their primary duty will be to the bank's shareholders. This is because this is not a nationalising measure; it is one step short of that. What we have arranged for is the establishment of a panel of persons appointed by the Minister for Finance who are available for appointment to the boards of the bank but they are there to promote the public interest. That is the formula we have arrived at for this scheme.

Deputy Alan Shatter suggested amending the Companies Act next week to oblige the appointed directors to act in the public interest. That is not an easy amendment to insert into the companies legislation. The duty of a director to a company is a fundamental one.

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