Amendments to the ICC Bank Bill, which would have required the State institution's terms of sale being divulged to the Dail, were rejected by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Martin Cullen, when he appeared before the Select Committee on Finance and the Public Service yesterday.
Mr Cullen said an amendment by Mr Derek McDowell TD would not be appropriate and would raise question marks over the remaining stages of the sale process in which Bank of Ireland is the sole bidder.
Mr McDowell said the process as it stood gave "unfettered power" to the Minister to complete the sale. The taxpayer, through the Dail, was entitled to know the terms of the sale. "We are being asked to sign off on a deal but we do not know the price," he said.
Mr Cullen said the parameters of the sale price had been agreed. "There are a number of issues around the price which will affect the final price, but it is within certain parameters." Bank of Ireland has emerged as the sole suitor after the only other bank to complete due diligence, KBC, withdrew from the process.
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