Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said tonight that Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) has "all the necessary Government support it needs" to continue its business.
A statement from the Minister said the board of Irish Nationwide had confirmed it had made "significant progress" in strengthening its management and organisation.
Mr Lenihan issued the statement after an article was published in
The Irish Timestoday, in which former INBS chairman Dr Michael Walsh was quoted in a letter to the board as saying he believed the institution could not survive without significant Government support.
However, the Minister said Dr Walsh told him this was in fact a reference to the Government guarantee.
A statement from Mr Lenihan's office said: "The Minister wishes to state in the strongest possible terms that Irish Nationwide Building Society has all the necessary Government support it needs to conduct its business as set out in Irish Nationwide's business plan notified to the Department of Finance under the terms of the Government's guarantee issued on September 29th last."