Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his comments. If the Minister was sitting on this side that would be a fair one for him to swallow. I have no doubt about his bona fides on this issue and I have no doubt that if he is Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources this time next year, after the sale, he will appear before the committee and elaborate as stated. We have been told there will be a reshuffle during the summer and the reality is that he may not be the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources this time next year. He may have a higher portfolio at that stage. There is no guarantee that whoever is in his position this time next year will appear before the committee. There is precedent for this but I am not sure if it was in this portfolio. The late Séamus Brennan gave a commitment which was put into primary legislation that the disposal of Aer Lingus would not be approved prior to the authorisation of both Houses of the Oireachtas. That condition was inserted in the legislation because there were concerns regarding landing slots at Heathrow Airport. The Minister can check the file but so far as I can recall the Attorney General's office spent some time trying to ascertain if there was any possible way of getting around that condition without having to come back to the Oireachtas to receive the authorisation.

The condition Deputy Moynihan seeks to have inserted needs to be elaborated on but we are all agreed on the principle that the Minister of the day should report back on the sale of the assets and how the money is going to be utilised. The question is whether it should be enshrined in primary legislation. The reality is that once the Minister of the day goes out this door and it closes behind him, all bets are off. I do not doubt his bona fides but the reality is that we have had other Ministers who may not have been as sincere as the Minister. There is no guarantee that in 12 months time the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, will be the Minister in charge of this brief. If there are questions over the disposal of the assets the Minister of the day may not be as anxious to appear before the committee. That is why it is fundamentally important that it is written into the primary legislation, to ensure there is an onus and responsibility on the Minister of the day to come back and report and justify how and why he or she went about the sale in order that we do not have a continual series of parliamentary questions, leaks to the media, and a series of issues being raised on Leaders' Questions and the Order of Business before the Government of the day concedes to a parliamentary inquiry. We would then be back to square one with the rubbish we have seen in the past in respect of some of the parliamentary inquiries. Let us be up-front and insert it in the legislation. Let us make provision for the Minister of the day to come back and elaborate on the issues we all agree need to be elaborated on and which are part of the Bill. The question is whether it should be enshrined in legislation. I urge the Minister to look at the issue and come back on Report Stage with an amendment that articulates exactly what he has said here today.