Taoiseach has seen 'no good reason' to breach €500,000 salary cap for AIB

The Taoiseach has said he would only allow a breach of the €500,000 cap on bankers pay in a "truly exceptional case".

It has emerged that Allied Irish Banks has written to Finance MinisterMichael Noonan seeking to breach the cap for a new chief executive.

Enda Kenny has told the Dáil that while he has not seen this request yet, he has not seen any evidence of an exceptional case.

"€500,000 is an extraordinary amount of money and...I'd like to hear from the Minister for Finance (about) the case being made by (AIB)," he said.

"The cap was put in place for a very god reason. No good reason has come across my desk as to why that should change."