Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply, a summary of which is that he personally decides on issues as they arise. We all know the issue which brought this into sharp focus was the recent Bank of Ireland annual general meeting. The Minister gave us his rationale for abstaining from the vote, namely, the ongoing Mercer report dialogue in the bank.

I felt it was important to get clarity on how decisions are made. This is particularly important with regard to Bank of Ireland, which is in a different category from AIB and Permanent TSB. In the future, the decisions that will have to be made on certain issues will require recourse to shareholders. I refer to the re-election of directors or - please God - the payment of dividends. It is important for us to understand the process the Minister undertakes when he arrives at the decisions he makes on behalf of the Government and, by extension, the Irish people for whom he holds these shares. Perhaps he can elaborate on that. When these individual decisions arise, from whom does he seek advice so that he can exercise his vote accordingly?

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