Friday was a red letter day for Bank of Ireland, and Irish banking generally with the return of bonuses to a lender bailed out by the State during the crash. The Government no longer has a stake in Bank of Ireland, but it faced significant criticism before Christmas when then minister for finance Paschal Donohoe gave the go-ahead for it, along with AIB and Permanent TSB to offer bonuses up to €20,000.

Employees won’t see the profit share plan until next year, and it will depend on the bank’s own performance. Banker pay will remain a political football for some time to come, and with a super tax of 89 per cent on payouts above €20,000 there is little scope for future increases for now.

Yet the apparent optimism at Bank of Ireland is notable. The bonuses, along with cost-of-living pay increases, will be welcome to the rank-and-file there. Still, the return of bonuses, however modest, will stick in the craw of some folks given the pain of the last decade and half. Bank of Ireland will need to be whiter than white for bonuses to be acceptable again. Past performance suggests that will be a very big task indeed.