Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Finance further to the appointment that he announced and welcomed, of the former head of the Shareholder Management Unit (details supplied) to a position at Bank of Ireland, if he will set out the assessment that has taken place in his Department of their knowledge of the workings of Allied Irish Banks and Permanent TSB acquired in their former position; and if this knowledge may give Bank of Ireland an unfair advantage in Irish banking sector competition. [3717/13]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Finance further to the appointment of the former head of the Shareholder Management Unit, to a position at Bank of Ireland (details supplied), his views, as the holder of 99.8% of the shares in Allied Irish Banks, on any damage to the prospects of AIB occasioned by the appointment. [3718/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 225 and 226 together.

On the issue of the involvement of the former head of the Shareholder Management Unit, the officer went on holidays to Australia on 12 December, 2012 and did not return to the Department until January 14th, 2013 at which time he tendered his resignation and in accordance with normal practice will not take up duty in the banks for another two months. Hence there is effectively a cordon sanitaire in operation for three months in this instance. All civil servants are subject to a number of confidentiality clauses, these also apply to NTMA staff seconded to the Department. I can confirm that the official has signed the following documents:-

(1) Official Secrecy and Integrity Circular15/1979

(2) Freedom of Information Circular 7/98

(3) Official Secrecy: Budget Preparations Circular 27/95

(4)Software Use, Acquisition and Management Policy Office Notice 04/02

(5) Department of Finance Information and Communications Technology Usage Policy Summary Office Notice 01/2006

All these give further protection around the confidentiality of information involved.