Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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In regard to the potential sale of other State assets, I would make the same argument. Does the Minister agree that selling off the profitable parts of Bord Gáis, for example, to an entity such as Blackstone, the United States investment fund which I understand has expressed an interest in purchasing them, for the rumoured price tag of €1 billion, will inevitably put pressure on the remainder of that company's operations? Why would we sell off the profitable parts of a company which is currently in public ownership, leaving us with the parts that are costly to maintain? Surely that is a recipe for privatisation further down the road?