Ned O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 300: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will clarify a numbers of matters (details supplied). [1432/11]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The recent €3.7 billion investment in AIB was made only after the High Court, on my application, made a direction order to AIB for the issuance of additional share capital in the Bank to ensure that the bank continued to meet its capital requirements as prescribed by the Central Bank. The direction order was made in accordance with the provisions of Section 9 of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010 following my application, as Minister for Finance, that such an order should be made. I am advised that it is permissible to release a copy of the Court Order and I will arrange for a copy to be sent to the Deputy by my officials.

The High Court has ordered that there be no publication or reporting of particular paragraphs of the Affidavit. It is not possible or appropriate, therefore, to release the full unredacted Affidavit.

Both the application that the matter be heard otherwise than in public under Section 60 of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act (and the reasons advanced), as well as the application for the direction order itself were heard in camera by direction of the Court. It is not appropriate, therefore, for me to detail the reasons for the application under Section 60, which provides that "[t]he Court may order that any application under this Act, or any part of such an application, shall be heard otherwise than in public or may impose restrictions with regard to the disclosure in open court, publication or reporting of any material that might be commercially sensitive".

As is evident from the redacted version of the Affidavit which has been released, AIB was informed in advance that I would be making an application under the Act and consented to the making of a Direction Order by the Court.