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

I thank the Minister for his reply. Does the Minister believe that the State will recoup all of the €20.8 billion that was injected into AIB? He has just said that he believes the current valuation of AIB is in excess of the €11.6 billion figure that the NPRFC put on the bank at the end of 2013. When I quizzed the CEO of AIB, Mr. David Duffy, at a recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, he expressed the belief that within a ten-year period all of the money should be repaid to the State. I would like to hear the Minister's views on that issue. My view on the State's shareholding is that while I would not necessarily be opposed to selling a minority stake in the bank, I believe there is real long-term value for the State in holding at least some equity interest in AIB. It is a recovering bank in a recovering economy and is making significant progress. The best prospect for the State in terms of recouping all the money is to at least retain a significant shareholding in the bank for a number of years. I would welcome the Minister's views on that issue.

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