The decision was "amoral" and would cause "open resentment" by creating a two-tier system, she said.

"Does the bank have a social conscience to the community it serves?" she asked.

Governor Richard Burrows was unmoved. "I do not accept in any way the remarks you make about unfairness or a two-tier system, " he said firmly. "What we cannot have is a situation where pensions are unquantifiable deferred pay for our staff."

The appropriate place for any further discussion was employee forums or the pensions help desk in the lobby of UCD's O'Reilly Hall, he suggested.

Former bank porter Paddy Behan was exercised about both pensions and pay, asking whether the bank directors would get the same increase as that agreed under the pay talks. Clearly not, judging by Burrows' response that the agreement is "a base".

The performance of BIAM was another bugbear. Last week's management overhaul is only the first step in a long road, Burrows suggested.

"We have to win, over time, the confidence of the institutions."

There were also niggling worries about the property market. Shareholder Neil Duggan, a regular thorn in the side of the AIB board at its AGM, was concerned both about an impairment charge of 1m attributed to a loan to a bank, and about BoI's exposure to property.

Burrows fended off the impairment query by noting that the bank's loan loss charge is at a historic low, at 11 basis points, and stressed the bank's "very conservative and careful underwriting policies". He easily batted off queries about entrepreneur Denis O'Brien's presence on the board and about former chief executive Mike Soden's settlement.

It was left to chief executive Brian Goggin to address the concern that bank ATMs dispense only 50 notes. "There is a trade-off between the demand for cash from machines and their capacity to hold notes, " he said, while accepting the "legitimate point" that many customers and shareholders are of "modest means".

A cheerful Burrows was unrepentant about the new early starting time of the court, despite one shareholder's complaint. Ten o'clock is not early these days, he said, and pensioners travelling long distances could always have a night out in Dublin. And early start or not, the overall mood seemed upbeat, even before the wine and tasties were broken out. "Exciting times, " said Goggin.

"I hope you can share the sense of excitement we feel, " chipped in Burrows, praising the "dynamic management team". He drilled home the bank's ambitions and its wish to stay independent. It has "had no approaches quite categorically", he said.

In a smooth first court outing as governor, Burrows was complimented for not using "buzz words". His performance was marred only by a jarring note in response to a query from shareholder Mary Pyle about the dearth of women at board level.

The board was "actively" looking for potential women members, Burrows said, and would like to see more "ladies" in the board room. "We recruit people who are the best people for the job, " he said. "If we can recruit a woman, all the better, and we are actively trying to do that."