`Rebels' at AIB take case to Dail

A group of disgruntled AIB shareholders has written to members of Dail Eireann urging them to support the group's grievances against the bank's board of directors.

The group, which calls itself "AIB shareholders committed to the restoration of honesty and integrity", is preparing to put a series of motions to the bank's annual general meeting on April 21st in Cork. The group, which is led by Mr Niall Murphy, is concerned about allegations that the bank facilitated tax evasion in the light of the controversy over bogus non-resident accounts. The shareholders are also seeking an amnesty for all AIB employees below the rank of director prior to December 31st, 1998, who may have been associated with such alleged activities.

Another resolution to be put to the meeting asks the bank to give a commitment to ultimately paying back an estimated £100 million to the Exchequer which it provided to the bank in the wake of the collapse of its Insurance Corporation of Ireland subsidiary in the 1980s.

The group will also be calling on the board to negotiate a merger or take-over of the bank "in the best interests of its employees, pensioners and shareholders".

It will propose the removal of directors, Mr John McGuckian, chief executive Mr Tom Mulcahy and AIB chairman, Mr Lochlann Quinn. The group will also put down a motion calling for the removal of the bank's auditor's Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

In previous years, the small group of dissidents has complained about aspects of the way in which AIB conducts its annual general meeting, including five-minute time limits, which it has set for individual shareholder contributions on each motion.