DUBLIN, Ireland: Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has announced that he expects the Bank of Ireland to become a privately-owned bank soon.

Donohoe said on September 21 that the government will soon end its ownership of shares of Bank of Ireland, after selling all of them.

He further said the government has raised over 800 million euros by selling its shares in the bank in the last year.

At its height, the government-owned nearly 14 percent of the shares of the Bank of Ireland. It began selling its shares in 2021. As of June 2022, the government-owned less than three percent of the bank's shares.

"This will be an important milestone in delivering on the government's policy of returning the banks to private ownership," Donohoe told the Oireachtas finance committee this week.