Banks public-interest directors do not report to Govt: Noonan
The Finance Minister Michael Noonan has admitted that the public-interest directors on the boards of the banks do not report to the Government.
Michael Noonan said the directors, who were appointed by former minister Brian Lenihan, were obliged to be independent under company law.
In the Dáil Fianna Fail's Michael McGrath expressed surprised that the directors have no contact with the minister or the Government.
But Michael Noonan said the law dictated that even public-interest directors must act independently.
"Their job under company law is to bear the interests of the institution on whose boards they serve in mind, and that's their priority. They're obliged to bear the public interest in mind, but there is no reporting back (to the Government)," he said.
