Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the Deputy's first point about the share price and investors doing well, of course, the State is still an investor. It owns the vast majority of the bank and as the share price goes up, our stake in the bank also goes up.

To answer the Deputy's second question, it continues to be my intention to use the money to repay the national debt.

The €3 billion relating to the 25% of sales was released back to the Exchequer last Tuesday or Wednesday. We will be using it to pay down the national debt in a way that meets our requirements under EU law.

The future sale of bank shares is not on my immediate agenda as I outlined in my first reply to Deputy McGrath. I have not, as of yet, raised it with the European Commission or elsewhere. However, I expect there will be ongoing debate throughout the next one or two years in respect of the future role of fiscal rules within the eurozone.

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