Employees at ICC will not be the only financial beneficiaries of the sale of the bank. There are 48 minority shareholders who stand to gain when the bank is sold.

While the State owns the vast majority of the ICC's 21,969,895 shares, some 1,239 shares are held by 48 private shareholders.

If the bank is sold for £200 million the shares in private hands would be worth about £11,500.

These shares are held by descendants of the original founders, directors and former directors of the bank which was set up in 1933. Among the biggest private shareholders are the members of the Ginnell family of Mullingar who own 460 ICC shares inherited from their grandmother Ms Marcella Ginnell who supported the bank share offer in 1933.

Stockbrokers Mr Joe Davy and Mr Brian Davy of Dublin own 250 shares, while Mrs Eva Briscoe of Dublin owns 125 shares and Mr Ken Beaton, also of Dublin, has 70 shares.

Directors and former directors who hold shares include chairman Mr Phil Flynn (one share), chief executive Mr Michael Quinn (two shares) and former chief executive Mr Frank Casey (two shares).

The 14.9 per cent stake committed to employees will be valued at about £30 million. Employees could get about 5 per cent of that stake free as part of an employee share-option scheme. That would mean they would get about £10 million worth of shares, a holding worth about £32,000 for each employee. Employees are likely to have to pay for any additional share stake, but may get a discount on the market value of those shares.