Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

The Government placed a cap of €500,000 on bankers' pay. Some of us argued for a lower rate, given the awful distress of people. Tá a fhios ag an Taoiseach go bhfuil na gnáth daoine ag cur suas le méadú costaisí ar bhia agus ar thaisteal cé go bhfuil an Rialtas ag leanúint leis ag cur billiún euro isteach ins na bancanna.

When I asked the Taoiseach this question in May, he did not rule out the possibility of AIB breaking this cap of €500,000, which is an obscene amount of money to pay anyone. In response, he said he had never seen people so frustrated at the carry-on of bankers but he did not rule the possibility out. Last weekend, the Minister for Finance confirmed that AIB has, indeed, asked for permission to negotiate a salary of more than €500,000. Will the Taoiseach tell AIB, and the Dáil, that the Government will, under no circumstances, allow this?

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