Tipperary TD Seamus Healy calls for sacking of Noonan for BOI share sale

Statement by Seamus Healy TD

The value of Wilbur Ross and Prem WATSA’s shares in Bank Of Ireland has more than trebled from 1.123 Billion to 3.82 Billion.  They are now about to sell 6.75% of BOI for 690m at a large profit.

On Nov 7 I said here: “In April 2013, on Bloomberg TV, Wilbur Ross, the American vulture capitalist, described Bank of Ireland as his best investment anywhere in the world during the financial crisis. In July 2011 the Government sold State shares in Bank of Ireland to a consortium of North American vulture capitalists for €1.123 billion. The effect of the sale is that the State now owns 15% of Bank of Ireland’s shares at a net cost of €4 billion, while these vulture capitalists own 37% at a cost of €1.123 billion. The fire sale of Bank of Ireland shares has handed Wilbur Ross and his wealthy associates a capital gain of €2 billion. No wonder he was celebrating on television. They are onto a sure winner in the future” It was too true. Not alone had the Irish people bailed out this bank, BUT YOUR GOVERNMENT had guaranteed that the SHARES WOULD rise by Designating it as a pillar Bank. IT CLEARLY MADE NO SENSE TO SELL THESE SHARES Now WILBUR ROSS is going to cash in his gains recouping the major part of his original investment while retaining his ownership of about 30% of the bank.. Now Wilbur is penning paeans of praise in the Independent to Richie Boucher and the government. And why wouldn’t he. He and his partners TREBLED THEIR INVESTMENTand now hold  3.82 billion in assets  for shares he bought from this Government in July 2011 at 1.123 Billion.

Will you now  tell the Irish People the truth that while you were fleecing the Irish people with your austerity budgets, due to your ideological commitment to privatisation of banks, you have cost the Irish People 2.7 Billion Euro which has gone straight into the pockets of Wilbur Ross and his North American  vulture capitalist friends.  If you ran a sweetshop like Minister Noonan is handling state investments, you would not be long in business. Will you sack the Minister for Finance who proposed the original rip off of the Irish People to the cabinet in the fire sale?

Supplementary

Not alone that, when the Bank was recently  unable to call or buy all the preference shares held by the government, your government  voluntarily sold the excess shares to a third Party.   As Minister Noonan said in reply to my PQ : “In this transaction the bank exercised its legal right to redeem up to €537m of the 1.837 million in shares at par while the State took the decision to sell the balance of €1.3 billion for a premium”. That premium was less than 5%. In fact, the state sold 1.3 billion euro in preference shares to a third party. On march 31 these shares would have been worth an additional 325milion euro to the state. As a result of the entire operation the state stake in the bank was reduced by a further 1.1% or about 100 million! So the state gave away a further 425 million, almost half a billion,

If someone sold an ass at a fair in that kind of deal, you would ask did he sell it to a relation!!

Again I ask you to sack the Minister For Finance and put someone in charge who puts the interest of the Irish people first?