Taoiseach’s comment on financial institutions was strongly criticised by the opposition

DUBLIN: Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s comments on bank shareholders have been widely criticised by the Opposition. Taoiseach told in the Dáil that “shareholders in the banks were not bailed out, the State took equity.”

His comments came after six Irish-owned financial institutions, including Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Nationwide, EBS, Permanent TSB, AIB and Bank of Ireland, received capital injections of €64 billion from the public purse.

Anglo and Irish Nationwide have been liquidated and EBS has been taken over by AIB. Ireland still owns shares in AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB. However, these are well below the €64 billion capital invested by the taxpayer despite the State receiving dividends.

Mr. Martin told the Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett that what he said was not a popular thing but it was a fact.

Members of the public and institutional investors holding bank stock have been wiped out or only own shares worth a fraction of their original value.