My Department is in continuing contact with the administrator of Icarom plc, formerly the Insurance Corporation of Ireland, with regard to the repayment of the loan of £100 million, which was made to the administrator in 1985 and which is due for repayment in September 2000. As I have previously indicated to the House, this repayable advance was provided by way of a loan to the Minister for Finance from the Central Bank which was funded in turn by a deposit of £70 million placed by AIB with the Central Bank and £30 million of the Central Bank's own resources. When the administrator repays the £100 million loan in September 2000 to the insurance compensation fund, the fund will in turn repay the Exchequer, which will in turn repay the Central Bank. The Central Bank will then repay Allied Irish Banks the £70 million deposit which AIB placed with the Central Bank in 1985 for a period of 15 years. There are no other payments to any other company or body in respect of the £100 million loan.
I am satisfied the administrator will be in a position to meet the £100 million repayment in September 2000 without any further recourse to the Exchequer. The repayment of the £100 million loan in September 2000 will effectively end the arrangements which were put in place in 1985 for the funding of the High Court administration of the Insurance Corporation of Ireland. It does not affect the additional funding arrangements which were put in place in 1992 and which provided for an interest-free loan of £32 million from the Exchequer, which is repayable not later than 2012 and for an annual contribution of £8.8 million from Allied Irish Banks for each of the 20 years up to 2012.
