Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The NewERA concept was always about the opportunities that presented themselves to sell State assets that were not necessary for strategic State ownership, and to use the resources of those sales for investment in infrastructure and the creation of jobs. When the NewERA concept was launched, the extent of money in the National Pension Reserve Fund was somewhat different than it is now, and it is necessary to spend considerable sums of money from the National Pension Reserve Fund to finance banks as a result of what had gone on previously and what had been allowed to go on. The Deputy might reflect on that.

The Government has no intention to rush out to sell State assets. We have made it perfectly clear that in the programme for Government, the opportunity in that programme is to achieve a sale of assets to the value of €2 billion. To do that, the Government will consider which assets are not strategic. We will focus on a number of those and NewERA will carry out the evaluation of that in consultation with all of those concerned-----

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