SEANAD REPORT: The suggested merger of the two main banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland, was something that should be nipped in the bud, said Mr Shane Ross (Ind). The suggestion should be debated because it was gaining ground in the banking and financial worlds.

An executive in one of the two big banking groups had put the suggestion forward in a recent newspaper interview and promoted it in a speech on Wednesday.

"I am not going to make a judgment on this, but I do think that if that developed, it would have serious consequences for the consumer in Ireland," Mr Ross said. "It is something we should nip in the bud, in this House, very quickly before it is allowed to develop. I think it would be a good thing if the Minister [for Finance] who is known to have views on this, came into the House at an early date to give us those views."