Labour seeks to cap bank executives' pay

The Labour Party said today it was putting forward amendments to emergency legislation on the banking system so that there would be a cap on bank executives' pay.

In a statement this morning, the party said it would table 12 amendments when the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill is debated in the Dáil today.

The party said a key amendment would prevent any of the banks that will be beneficiaries of the guarantee scheme from paying any of their officials more than the gross annual earnings of the Minister for Finance.

Another amendment would defer the implementation of the Bill until the Minister for Finance has published and sought the approval of the Dáil for the full terms of the proposed scheme of financial assistance for the financial institution.

A further amendment would require State equity in the event of State funds being used to bail out an institution.

Labour said its amendments "are designed to protect the taxpayers money, provide for increased supervision by the Oireachtas of the rescue package, and allow for . . . an independent oversight board to advise and report on the very wide powers being given to the Minister for Finance under the Bill".

During the Dail debate on the Bill last night, former Labour leader Pat Rabbitte noted the United States was talking about $700 billion purchase of “dodgy toxic accounts” which represented 5 per cent of its GNP.

“We have put 200 per cent of GNP theoretically at risk here, and we don’t know what the Minister means when he says there will be a cost levied, how it will be levied.

“That is not the way to make law or to ask us to confer these powers on the Minister without any knowledge of what kind of oversight,” Mr Rabbitte said.