Minister for State at the Department of Finance Brian Hayes has said the Government will oppose any moves to lift the €500,000 cap on bankers' pay.
Mr Hayes said the idea that people would go back to the normal habit of paying themselves enormous bonuses is something that would be an anathema to the Government.
Speaking earlier, Financial Regulator Matthew Elderfield has told the MacGill Summer School that caps on bankers' pay would probably need to be looked at again as fresh blood was needed in the sector and this was hard to achieve with the cap in place
Mr Elderfield also said the recapitalisation of the banks will make it easier for them to help mortgage or small business customers struggling with debt.
Mr Elderfield warned, however, against creating incentives for borrowers to stop meeting their obligations.
He added that taxpayers would also want to eventually recover the money injected into the banks.
However, he stressed that despite these considerations, there was now more scope for banks to take individual decisions based on the circumstances of each borrower.
Mr Elderfield also backed Government plans to reform what he called the 'antiquated' bankruptcy laws.
The regulator said the Central Bank was looking at what additional protection may be needed for small companies who are in arrears on their loans, but may still be viable.
The bank is reviewing areas of the code of conduct covering lending to businesses to see if they are operating effectively.
Referring to the bank's review of the fitness and probity of all current Irish bank directors, Mr Elderfield said he did not underestimate the legal challenges it may have in using its new powers to suspend or remove directors.
He also said that the planned sell-off of assets, aimed at reducing the size of the banks, 'should not come at any price', adding that there should be no fire sales.
