FINANCE MINISTER Brian Lenihan has said he has no power to compel former Irish Nationwide chief Micheal Fingleton to repay a €1 million bonus.

But he said the chairman of the building society had told him it was doing all in its power to recover the money, which the society paid out just weeks after the Government guaranteed the entire Irish banking system.

“The government doesn’t have a right to sue for this money – it is between the society and Mr Fingleton,” said Mr Lenihan yesterday after an EU finance ministers’ meeting, which discussed how to curb excessive bonuses.

Mr Lenihan said restrictions on bonuses in Ireland introduced following the State guarantee were among the most effective in Europe. He said the bonus paid to Mr Fingleton preceded this guarantee and reiterated that the repayment of the bonus was a matter for Irish Nationwide.

EU finance ministers agreed on the principle of pushing for global action to end the short-term bonus culture in banking, which has been blamed for the reckless lending practices that caused the financial and economic crisis. Swedish finance minister Anders Borg, whose country holds the EU presidency, said bankers were still “partying like it’s 1999, and it’s 2009”.

“The bonus culture must come to an end and it must come to an end in Pittsburgh,” said Mr Borg in reference to the G20 meeting of world leaders, which is scheduled to take place later this month to discuss the economy.

France and Germany have been pressing for an end to the typical system of paying bonuses in the industry, whereby bonuses are paid out around March after the previous year’s business result is worked out. Critics say this incentivises bankers to take big risks in order to achieve fast gains.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed bankers bonuses be paid out over three years, with half of it, or up to two-thirds for bumper bonuses, deferred over the last two years of this period.