asked the Taoiseach if he will make available the relevant statistics concerning the number of non-nationals who are acting as directors of the banking concerns carrying on business within the State, and, further, if he will consider the setting up of a Government commission of inquiry into the influence and activities of non-nationals on the banking services available to members of the community.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Non-nationals in Banking Services.
From the available information, it appears that, of the 70 directors of the nine Irish commercial banks, 54 are Irish. All the directors of the Bank of Ireland, the Hibernian Bank, the Munster and Leinster Bank, the Royal Bank of Ireland and the National City Bank are Irish. Among the directors of the four other banks (namely, the National Bank, the Northern Bank, the Provincial Bank of Ireland and the Ulster Bank), 16 are described as being of British nationality. Of those 16, however, ten reside in Ireland, nine in Belfast, and one in Dublin.
As to the second part of the question, banking has already been the subject of two commission of inquiry since the establishment of the State, and I see no reason for setting up a further commission.