19 January 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe will address the Oireachtas Finance Committee today on his plan to sell shares in AIB.
Oireachtas Finance Committee member and Socialist Party Deputy Mick Barry (Cork North Central) has described the share sale as a “step in the direction of privatisation” and is expected to voice opposition to the plan.
Mick Barry TD
The State currently holds 71% of AIB shares and the Minister has announced plans to sell up to 15% of the banks’ total trading volume of shares over the next 6 months.
The taxpayer bailed out AIB to the tune of €20.8 billion in 2010.
Deputy Barry said this morning: “The Minister is taking a step in the direction of privatisation. For-profit banking is the opposite of what we need in this state. With Irish society crying out for public investment in housing and on climate action we need publicly-owned banks that can drive that investment. AIB should be turned into such a bank. The Irish people dug deep to bail it out and it is they who must reap the benefit now not private sector investors.”
Today’s meeting will commence at 1.30pm.