Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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83. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will clarify comments regarding a proposed relationship framework agreement with the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, where it was noted that an increased level of oversight is considered necessary, in view of experiences to date; if he will publish the full contents of all the memorandums released to a newspaper (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16170/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As part of Ireland's third review under the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support, a report on which was published in September 2011, there were a number of conditions/actions to which Ireland committed. One of these was to develop a framework to govern the exercise of the State's ownership rights in the banks resulting from the capital injections, including to put in place relationship frameworks with the banks to protect the commercial basis for the banks' operations while under State ownership. There was an end-March 2012 deadline in place for the introduction of these Relationship Frameworks with each of the banks in which the State acquired an interest in the context of the financial crisis to govern the relationship between the State, as shareholder, and each bank.

The Relationship Frameworks were designed to recognise the separation of each bank from the State, to ensure their businesses would be run on a commercial, cost effective and independent basis to ensure the value of the banks as an asset to the State , and to limit the State's intervention to the extent necessary to protect the public interest. Under the Relationship Frameworks each bank was to remain a separate economic unit with independent power of decision with its board of directors and management team retaining responsibility for determining the bank's strategies and commercial policies and conducting its day-to-day operations.

The revised Relationship Framework introduced with IBRC at end March 2012 was considerably more intrusive than those for the other banks.  This was necessary given the increased level of oversight which was required given the unique position of IBRC as a run-down vehicle financially supported by the State through the Promissory Notes and the Department of Finance's experience with IBRC at that time.

I have sent a copy of the document of 8 March 2012 to you along with all other documents relating to this FOI which were released to the newspaper referred to in the question.