AIB faces grilling over 'jaw-dropping' DJ Carey settlement

Former Kilkenny manager DJ Carey during the  Wexford v Kilkenny hurling championship final in 2019. The agreement struck between Mr Carey and AIB meant he had to pay just 0.63% of the original amount owed to the bank, which was referred to in a settlement document as a “compromise”. Picture: Bryan Keane/INPHO

AIB is set to be hauled before the Oireachtas finance committee over a “jaw-dropping” settlement it made with former GAA star DJ Carey, which saw more than 99% of his multi-million-euro debt written off.

The majority State-owned bank agreed it would write down over €9.5m in debt owed by the former Kilkenny hurler to €60,000 in 2017.

Junior minister Dara Calleary said he had been contacted by many people in recent days who are furious that they “haven’t had access to this kind of settlement”. The Fianna Fáil TD said: "AIB should appear before the finance committee, they need to provide the details of this, the context of the agreement, it’s a very jaw-dropping settlement."

This was echoed by Employment Affairs Minister Neale Richmond, who described the scale of the write-down as “worrying”.

At least five members of the committee, including Green Party TD Steven Matthews, are now calling on the bank to appear to explain how it signs off on such settlements.

Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty last night wrote to the committee requesting a meeting be scheduled with AIB, while Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Mick Barry, and Labour senator Marie Sherlock will all be raising the matter in private session on Wednesday.

The agreement struck meant that Mr Carey had to pay just 0.63% of the original amount owed to the bank, which was referred to in a settlement document as a “compromise”.

Inequity 

RTÉ’s Prime Time first reported that the bank secured a High Court judgment for the €9.5m on May 9, 2011, mostly arising from a €7.85m loan to Mr Carey that was secured on properties at Mount Juliet in Kilkenny and the K Club in Kildare.

Mr Matthews said: “Most people don’t have celebrity status or good contacts, so it’s important to see if the system is equitable when writing down loans, I’m sure most people would like their debts written off to this extent.”

While he said it may not be possible to quiz the bank on an individual case, Mr Matthews said the committee has a role in investigating the process of writedowns to ensure the public interest in the bank is well managed.

“I’d be interested to see the methodology behind writing down a loan and the processes they go through to arrive at a decision,” said Mr Matthews.

Describing the deal as “extraordinary”, Mr Tóibín said it shows that there is a “two-tier” financial system in Ireland.

“There are many people out there, I’m thinking of the people who own mica homes, who have mortgages on what are just heaps of rubble at this stage, and yet many of them are being forced to pay the amount of the mortgage back,” he said

"We need a situation where banks deliver loans and write-downs in a fair fashion to everybody, we need a transparent system especially given that’s it’s a bank owned by the people."

Ms Sherlock said there is now “a real and well-founded sense of grievance” that some people have been “better looked after” relative to others when it comes to financial institutions.

Meanwhile, Irish Mortgage Holders Association chief executive David Hall said there needs to be assurance that the same formula was applied in writing down the former Kilkenny star’s debt as other customers.