Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Finance the way, following the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank, the salaries, emoluments, pensions and other compensation of directors and staff will be set; if they will be subject to review in the same manner as executives and directors of other publicly owned enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4163/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the provisions of Section 20 of the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Act 2009, I as Minister for Finance or my nominee appointed under the Act, may with the consent of the Central Bank appoint directors, other officers and employees to Anglo Irish Bank. Any such appointees shall hold office for such duration and upon such terms and conditions as I or my nominee may determine. My functions under this section of the Act may be exercised only in the public interest and subject to regulatory requirements.

As I announced on 20th January in my speech on the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Bill, the day-to-day running of Anglo Irish Bank will continue as normal and will be managed on a commercial basis at arms length from the Government. Therefore matters in relation to remuneration of directors and staff at Anglo Irish Bank will continue to be determined in the normal way at the bank unless I decide to exercise my functions under Section 20 of the Act and in which case terms and conditions including remuneration will be set in accordance with advice from my officials, and having consulted with the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank.

The Deputy will be aware of the existence of the Covered Institutions Remuneration Oversight Committee (CIROC) established by me under the terms of the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme 2008 (Scheme), to oversee remuneration plans of senior executives of the covered institutions, including Anglo Irish Bank. The Scheme requires each covered institution to prepare and submit a plan to structure the remuneration packages of directors and executives so as to take account the objectives of the Scheme.

The relevant plans have been prepared and submitted by the covered institutions, including Anglo Irish Bank, and in line with timeframes set out in the Scheme, CIROC will report to me on or before 5th March 2009, making a recommendation where appropriate, on the compliance by the institution with the terms of the Scheme. The Scheme provides that if required, I may direct the institution to amend the remuneration plan to comply with the Scheme.

The Taoiseach announced in the House yesterday that in the context of recapitalisation of the banks, that he would expect director's fees to be cut by 25% and when they appoint their top executives there would be an upper limit on remuneration and that he would expect whatever it is at the moment would be cut by at least 25% as well. I will consider, in consultation with the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank, whether it is appropriate to apply similar rules to Anglo Irish Bank.