Anglo Irish nationalised despite cost concerns

ANGLO Irish Bank was nationalised last night despite protests from the opposition that just five hours was set aside in the Dáil to debate the move.

The bank was passed into public ownership amid concerns from Fine Gael and Labour that taxpayers still do not know the cost of the takeover.

During yesterday evening’s debate on the Anglo Irish Bank Bill 2009, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan insisted the country’s two other main banks, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank (AIB), will not be nationalised. He said the Government will go ahead with plans to inject €2 billion of capital into each institution.