Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The EU-IMF programme of December 2010 involves a commitment that the Government will outline methods to raise funds through asset disposals. The 2011 budget included a similar commitment.

The programme for Government includes an intention to finance investment in the State from the proceeds of the sale of certain State assets. The Government has also considered the report of the McCarthy review group on the sale of State assets and the recommendations of that group.

I accept that the fiscal path, to which the Government is committed under the EU-IMF agreement, demands that the option of realising value from State assets be fully explored. I also accept that there is significant value in energy commercial State companies, which could be realised at an appropriate time after necessary further analysis of all the complex factors relating to the disposal of commercial assets in the energy sector.

The sale of a minority stake in the ESB as an integrated utility has, this morning, been agreed by Government. This decision is an early demonstration of the commitment by the Government to the programme for Government's objectives and to its obligations under the EU-IMF memorandum of understanding.

This sale will be advanced by means of a defined process involving a full evaluation of the best approach to be taken, including consideration of the size of the minority stake to be sold. That process will be progressed by a group co-chaired by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, also including officials from the Department of Finance and availing of expertise from the National Treasury Management Agency and NewERA.

Full consideration will be taken of the energy policy and regulatory framework in this evaluation, and appropriate consultation will be engaged in. The group will report back to Government with a recommendation by the end of November.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The decision by Government today recognises the strategic importance of the energy sector to the economic and social functioning of the State, and that the State must continue to have a strong and direct presence in electricity, particularly in the regulated transmission and distribution networks. This presence must be maintained in a way that protects overall economic competitiveness and does not deter private investment. The process to analyse options for the minority stake sale in ESB will fully reflect these principles.

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