AIB head said he spoke to Minister John Perry but gave no special treatment

The head of AIB says he spoke to Small Business Minister John Perry about his financial difficulties with Danske bank but did not afford him any special treatment.

The head of AIB says he spoke to Minister John Perry about his financial difficulties with Danske bank, but did not afford him any special treatment.

Last week, the Fine Gael TD faced criticism that he abused his position as Minister for Small Business when it emerged that he made contact with AIB head David Duffy and the head of Bank of Ireland Richie Boucher over his debts of almost €2.5 million euro.

The CEO of AIB said he spoke to the Minister, but there was never an issue of him getting any special treatment due to his position.

"I listened to his comments about his situation - as I have done with every single customer around the country," Mr Duffy said.

"So let's be clear: is Minister Perry or anybody else, regardless of their position, going to get favouritism or any treatment different than the average consumer based on a conversation with me?

"The answer to that is absolutely not."

Minister Perry and his wife Marie consented to a €2.47m High Court judgement with Danske Bank last week.