The last initial public offering for the sale of a quarter of Allied Irish Banks was at a price of €4.50 per share. This morning AIB shares were selling at €3.79. That must make it difficult for the State to consider selling on any further stake, given that the revenue would be far lower than previously and the Government would be undermining the shareholders who have already bought in.

The bank has lost its chief executive, unfortunately, or the chief operating officer and is in a difficult environment, as the head of the European Central Bank, Mr. Draghi, said when he came to the House. He said the banking model is changing.

I am keen to find out the Government's latest plans with regard to AIB. Will the Government consider converting the bank into a public bank along the Sparkassen model? It could be involved in revitalising small business lending throughout the island. That would be in the good proud tradition of that bank and its constituent banks, going back to the days of Munster and Leinster Bank and beyond. What are the Government plans with AIB given that the share price is so low and the bank does not have a chief executive?

The Deputy will know as well as I do that share prices go up and down. It was over €5 earlier this year and has fallen considerably since then. There are many reasons for that.

We have no plans to sell any more shares in AIB currently, but over time or at the right time when the share price is good we intend to divest the Government stake in AIB further and use that money to pay down the debt. One reason we are able to borrow so cheaply on the markets at the moment is the fact that our budget is balanced and because the markets understand our commitment to use any sales of shares or any windfall from NAMA to reduce debt. If we were to depart from that policy we would find it could cost us a lot very quickly. The markets have already priced that into their calculations.

Page 74 of the programme for Government states that carers are the backbone of care provision in this country. Currently, it is taking 18 to 20 weeks for carers to get approved. These delays are unacceptable in the round but they become especially contemptible in circumstances where the person to be cared for is dying of cancer. My office has now witnessed several incidents where a person to be cared for is dead before the carer's grant is decided. Often these are people who cannot afford care in their dying days by their own means. Surely when there is medical evidence of terminal cancer an exceptional case can be made and a rapid decision on a carer's grant can be made.

I acknowledge that there are some very long delays for people applying for carer's allowance and carer's benefit. A process has to be followed. Obviously, someone has to apply. There is a means test element to the process as well. An applicant needs a medical report establishing that the person requires full-time care. It is always going to take a few weeks to process applications but it should not take as long as it is taking now in some circumstances.

It should not take 20 weeks.

I know the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Doherty, is working on that to see if we can speed it up. She has made some changes to the application for domiciliary care allowance and the change has reduced the time to four or five weeks. Perhaps we can follow the same model for carer's allowance and carer's benefit. The Department can pay back-pay once the entitlement is established.

That is no good if the patient is dead.

I appreciate that people would rather not have to go through it that way.