DUBLIN, May 30 (Reuters) - The pricing next month of Ireland’s initial public offering of Allied Irish Banks (AIB) could be driven up if Britain’s ruling Conservative party wins a strong majority in the June 8 election, Ireland’s finance minister said on Tuesday.

The Irish government launched its long-awaited initial public offering of state-owned AIB on Tuesday, offering a 25 percent stake in what is set to be one of Europe’s largest bank listings since the 2008 financial crisis.

“We’re conscious of the British election and if there was a very strong majority in the UK for the Conservative it might drive the price up a little but we have a fairly good idea of the market now, it’s a very good market at the moment. IPOs are fashionable again,” Michael Noonan told national broadcaster RTE. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alison Williams)