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

I accept that the Minister must, of course, accept the outcome of the stress tests before making any decision. Does he, equally, accept that we need to know where we stand on a bank debt deal before making any decision on the future of AIB. Selling a stake in AIB now to private investors would be, at a minimum, a complicating factor in any negotiation on a deal on bank debt. We are supposed to prepare an application for a retroactive deal to be submitted as early as next month. The issue must be dealt with and concluded one way or the other before any decision is made on AIB. There is a distinct lack of competition in the banking sector. Any decision to sell part of the ownership of AIB must be made in the context of the banking sector's current state. We need more competition and I would like the Minister, his officials and agencies on behalf of the State to actively seek to attracvt more competition to the banking sector which is badly needed. We need direction and a strategy for the future. The banking sector is coming off its knees and beginning to recover, but customers, including personal borrowers and those from small and medium enterprises, are still being gouged and paying significantly higher interest rates than in other eurozone countries. This is simply not acceptable. The banking sector has not been repaired and it is premature in 2014 or 2015 to sell a share in AIB. Does the Minister accept that we need finality on the question of a bank debt deal before making any decision on divesting some of the shares in AIB?

See this speech in context