The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, has said Irish account holders with the UK mortgage provider, Northern Rock, should be reassured by the Bank of England's statement that their funds are safe.
Concerns were raised after the Bank of England stepped in to provide an emergency loan to Northern Rock after it ran into difficulties raising money on the wholesale financial markets.
Speaking after a meeting of finance ministers in the Portuguese city of Porto, Mr Cowen said the Bank of England has pointed out that the position of Irish savers is guaranteed.
Mr Cowen said it was important to point out that the regulatory regime was working properly.
The Financial Regulator has said that Irish consumers' savings are covered by the UK deposit protection scheme, adding that it is being kept informed by its equivalent body in the UK and customers have been urged to remain calm.
Brian Kavanagh, senior manager of Northern Rock, also said that despite the €2.4bn of Irish customers' money is secure.
Despite the reassurances, Irish customers waited in line for up to two hours at Northern Rock's Dublin office to take their money out today.
The bank's senior management in Ireland stressed the organisation has the backing of the Bank of England. It also has assets of €130bn.
Uncertainty is being caused by consumers having difficulty getting through on the phone and internet.
Northern Rock, which is one of the Britain's biggest mortgage lenders, has around 25,000 Internet and telephone account holders in Ireland who between them have around €2.4bn on deposit.
Northern Rock needs to borrow money from other banks to stay in business. Yesterday, the supply of those loans appeared to dry up forcing the Bank of England to step in.
The Bank of England's intervention is viewed as positive. It previously said it would only bail out an bank if it deemed their difficulties to be temporary.
This is the closest a retail bank operating in Ireland has come to falling foul of the global crisis that started with over zealous lending in the US sub prime mortgage market. Northern Rock shares plunged as much as 32% to a six-year low following the announcement.
Northern Rock has issued two helpline numbers for customers who wish to contact them. 1850 315115 is open from 8am-8pm Monday-Friday, 8pm-4pm on Saturday and 10am-3pm on Sunday. 01 6020324 operates from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.
The Financial Regulator has also set up a helpline at 1890 777 777.
