Vote backs nationalisation of bank
The Government tonight comfortably won a Dáil vote to take scandal-hit Anglo Irish Bank under state control.
The Anglo Irish Corporation Bill passed all legislative stages during a sometimes heated five-hour debate before being passed onto the Seanad.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the nationalisation of the financial institution was vital to address a major threat to the Irish banking sector.
But Opposition party leaders claimed not enough time was being given to discuss an issue which had damaged the reputation of the financial sector and caused public anger.
Fine Gael and Labour both voted against the Bill but the Government had enough support to win by 79 to 67.
An emergency meeting of Anglo shareholders last Friday heard that former chairman Sean FitzPatrick concealed loans totalling €129m between 2000-2007.
The fiasco has now seen the bank’s chief executive and seven directors quit the lender’s board.
Mr Lenihan told the Dáil today that Anglo has 7,000 customers on its loan books, of whom 5,000 are Irish.
It has retail deposits from 300,000 customers, including 72,000 Irish savers. In addition, of the 12,000 corporate deposits accounts, 3,500 are Irish.
Fine Gael deputy leader Richard Bruton told the debate: “The Government’s banking strategy has been made up on the hoof,” he added.
Labour TD Pat Rabbitte said he regretted that the Dail didn’t have the time to properly debate the issue.
Mr Lenihan also denied a media report that claimed that he and the Taoiseach had overruled Central Bank and Department of Finance officials to bring Anglo Irish Bank under the state deposit guarantee scheme last September.
In the Dáil debate, Labour failed in its bid to have a High Court inspector appointed under the Companies Act to investigate the affairs of Anglo.
