Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 July 2013
78. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Finance the discussions he has held with the Bank of Ireland regarding the future use of the old Irish Parliament on College Green, Dublin; if he has considered raising with the bank any potential swap that can be carried out in order to acquire this historic building for the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35995/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI refer the Deputy to the previous responses of my colleague Minister Deenihan, who has had discussions with the Bank on this matter. In the context of these discussions, communications took place between his officials and mine and the subject may have come up in communicating with the Bank. However, no formal discussions took place between my Department and the Bank on the issue. Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a minority shareholder in Bank of Ireland, I must ensure that the bank is run on a commercial, cost effective and independent basis to ensure the value of the bank as an asset to the State, as per the Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policies agreed with the EU Commission, the ECB and the IMF. It is a matter for the board and management of the Bank to determine and implement operational policy in their organisation. The decision regarding the future use of this building is solely an operational decision for the bank and bearing in mind that the building is currently a very busy city centre branch of Bank of Ireland, this would be a factor in any decision of the Bank regarding the building’s future usage.
