Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the role of the public interest directors in the State funded banks; the way they are representing the taxpayer; the actions they can take or have they taken when a taxpayer has a grievance with their bank; the action that they have taken to review and reduce the remuneration and pension packages of bankers in the best interests of the taxpayer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52895/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The legal position is that any director appointed to the board of the covered institutions whether under the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme 2008 or otherwise is subject to the requirements of company law in relation to the discharge of their responsibilities as a company director. As such, the director is legally bound to act in what he or she believes are the interests of the separate legal entity that is the institution itself. To address the scope for actual and perceived conflicts between the fiduciary duties of the directors of financial institutions under company law and the wider public interest in circumstances where those institutions have received financial support from the State, legal clarity, not just to the role of the public interest director but to that of the entire boards of those institutions, was provided under Section 48 of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010. It provides that the overriding duty of directors of the covered institutions relates to the public interest as set out in the Act.

The public interest directors have no particular role in dealing with individual taxpayer grievances with their bank. Individual taxpayers who have a grievance with their bank can have their issue dealt with through the normal channels, including if necessary the Financial Services Ombudsman. The Remuneration Committee of each bank is generally responsible for setting remuneration policy. The terms of reference of the Remuneration Committee are accessible on the website of each institution. These can be found at:

AIB:

Bank of Ireland :

PTSB :

Although there is a public interest director on the Remuneration Committees of Bank of Ireland and PTSB the public interest director cannot act unilaterally to review and reduce the remuneration and pension packages of employees. There is currently no public interest director on the Remuneration Committee of AIB, following the resignation of Declan Collier from the Board in June 2012.