Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was not going to go back to that because I want to deal with the Government we have today. However, if anybody can show me any memorandum of understanding of the previous Government showing a figure for the sale of State assets, I would be pleased to see it, because no such memorandum exists and there was no such figure. The first figure that went on the public record for the sale of State assets was the €2 billion the Minister and Fine Gael included in their programme for Government. The other figures were always related to the agreement with the IMF to undertake an independent assessment. That is as far as it went. The new Government has come up with the figure of €2 billion.

We have now seen a series of broken promises, but I welcome these because I did not agree with the sale of Coillte forests or Aer Lingus. The Minister has said that the troika wanted to keep the full €2 billion for debt reduction. However, he has now said that if the sale of assets realises €3 billion, Ireland will be permitted to keep half of it for job creation and stimulus measures while the other half goes to debt reduction. Therefore, the troika insisted that €1.5 billion should go for debt reduction. How much will we now achieve of the €3 billion target the Minister has set from the sale of Bord Gáis Éireann and ESB assets? It is around this amount that the Minister has built the infrastructure stimulus plan he announced in July 2012.

In his opening remarks today, the Minister said €850 million of this was to be funded from the proceeds of sale of State assets. Now that two of the four assets for sale are off the agenda, where stands that €850 million? Given the Minister announced the stimulus plan 12 months ago and given the big fanfare regarding the €850 million, how much of that has been received so far? The Minister got great mileage out of this €850 million, which did not exist then. How much of it exists as we speak? The Minister announced another €150 million part of that stimulus package recently, but how much has he realised from the €850 million he has referred to so often over the past 12 months?

In regard to NewERA, will the Minister clarify whether this comes under the remit of this Minister or of the Minister for Finance? I welcome the people from NewERA here today, Ms Fitzpatrick and others. Where does NewERA sit with regard to what was the National Development Finance Agency, which had a role in regard to public private partnerships and assessing their financial viability? Has that agency been subsumed, is it gone or does it still exist? How many staff are in the National Development Finance Agency and NewERA? How many also are part of the NTMA, which as far as I understand falls under the remit of the Department of Finance? Where is the demarcation line between this Minister's Department and NewERA? I know the Minister will say they work closely together, but will he explain to us the actual situation?

The only State asset on which there has been movement so far is Bord Gáis Éireann, and the Minister has said he commenced the sale process on 12 June. The only thing I know about Bord Gáis Éireann so far is that it has taken on approximately 300 or 400 staff to deal with Irish Water. I do not see the Minister realising proceeds from the sale of assets, but see him spending money the people will have to pay in water charges when meters are installed after the local elections. The Minister says he intends to sell the energy business side of Bord Gáis, but can he assure us that he will not be back here next year trying to sell the water side of the business once Irish Water is up and running and people are being charged for water?