Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said the Government should retain its stake in AIB and keep the bank in national ownership.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, Mr Adams said people had private banking debt foisted on them and this should never have happened.
He said if Minister for Finance Michael Noonan got rid of the limited ownership of AIB, the public would then have no say.
Mr Adams said the bank should be kept in State ownership while there is a need for a negotiating lever and while it benefits the taxpayer.
The Government has appointed Goldman Sachs to advise it on how best to sell the State's shareholding in AIB.
Asked about his party's views on the future of Irish Water, Mr Adams said his party was open to the idea of having a single utility.
However, he said he did not think Irish Water itself was fit for purpose.
He said there needed to be a different mode of governance of the utility.
Mr Adams said it was probably too late and would probably cost people too much to go back to the situation whereby local authorities ran water services.
Asked about the potential for private investment in Irish Water, Mr Adams said water services need to remain in public ownership and should not be handed over for privatisation.
He said what form the governance of the utility takes was a matter for experts.
The Sinn Féin leader also said he did not have any personal ambition to be Taoiseach.
He said he had not given the issue any consideration.
Mr Adams said he would not go into Government with anybody in any formation unless there was a commitment from other parties to abolish property tax and water charges.
