Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are a lot of unknowns and the witnesses are trying to look at what will happen in 20 or 25 years' time. In terms of the best protection from the perspective of the State, do the witnesses accept that full State ownership is the best way to ensure that the State is protected into the future considering that there is a relatively low level of private capital being invested versus the very significant amounts of money that the State has invested? We are all of the view that burden and risk sharing would ultimately be carried by a third party - the private sector. The State lost the long-term potential. On the basis of the medium term, the risk was elsewhere and, therefore, lower subsidy which made sense. In a nutshell, that has been turned on its head. We have capital worth €175 million coming in and then there is some working capital that will be paid back together with dividends, interest and all of that good stuff. Before we really know the success or otherwise of this venture, based on Mr. Watt's communication, the cost will already have been recouped by the bidder. The risk remains with the State throughout and in return there is no potential upside. Is that not the case?