"The first window was from mid-May to the end of June, we're in the middle of that window now so I'll have to make a decision either to go ahead or to wait for the next window in the autumn," Noonan told national broadcaster RTE.

"We're watching the markets very carefully, which are quite benign, especially towards bank shares at present, but we're watching other events as well that could put us off track, like the election in the UK. The decision hasn't been made yet but will have to be made in the next 10 days."

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jason Neely)