Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Is the Government resolved to proceeding with the sale of the Great Southern Hotels? Will the Minister inform the House whether it is intended to sell them as a going concern? I have a sheaf of statements by him to Kerry's Eye, The Kerryman and The Sunday Business Post. The Minister told The Sunday Business Post that as far as he was concerned the hotels should stay in State ownership for the reasons he described to that publication. Will the Minister meet representatives of the staff? Will he say whether the hotels will be sold as a going concern or as a different kind of arrangement?

The second matter I wish to raise relates to correspondence I had with the Minister on 1 July, when I enclosed relevant court documents relating to a person appointed to the board of Bord na gCon. On 15 June, the Minister stated to Deputy Hogan: "I am not aware of any appointees to State boards under the auspices of my Department currently disqualified from holding a directorship of a private company."

See this speech in context