Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Deputies Moynihan and Colreavy have said, we had this debate a long time ago. I can go back over the entire history of this initiative if colleagues would like me to do so. I do not think that is necessary because people understand what happened when this country had to seek outside assistance in 2010. They appreciate that it was a stipulation of the bailout programme that we should make some contribution from domestic resources - in particular, from the National Pensions Reserve Fund - and, on the other hand, that we should engage in a programme of disposal of State assets. A similar imposition was made in the case of Greece, for example. In the Irish case, the new Government over a period of seven months gradually whittled down the size of the programme of disposal of State assets and negotiated a facility for the reinvestment of more than half of the funds in question for domestic employment purposes.

The problem is that one either accepts that this is being done on the basis of an agreement that was made in 2010, or one does not. There are commentators who say we got off very lightly, given that this is virtually the only significant disposal. Regardless of whether that is true, it was decided that the energy business of Bord Gáis should be put on the market and marketed as part of a proper and competitive process. The selection of a preferred bidder was announced on 12 December last. That is the position.

Deputy Pringle is a bit like the Japanese soldier who came out of the forest waving his sword a number of years after the end of the Second World War.

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