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

No. Essentially, the provision brings us into compliance with complex European obligations related to what is known as unbundling. A new architecture must be put in place in terms of the Minister who is the primary stockholder in the company. Up to now, that has been the Minister with responsibility for energy, the Minister for Finance and, latterly, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

In compliance with the unbundling obligations on us, this new arrangement is being put in place where the majority shareholding Minister has the majority State ownership and there is a smaller nominal holding by the Ministers for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and Public Expenditure and Reform. It does not curtail us in the way feared by the Deputy.