Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

No, I do not. As the Deputy is aware, the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance announced the establishment of NewERA and the appointment of Dr. Eileen Fitzpatrick as its director. It is true that NewERA was the subject of a fundamental commitment given in the programme for Government and the relevant Ministers have been working very hard to set that programme in place and begin the process of making Ireland more competitive and a country in which more jobs are created. The Government made the decision to establish NewERA quickly and on the basis of it being non-statutory. It is not a new quango like the ones we used to have for years. It is part of the NTMA which has done a very good job.

As the Deputy is aware, NewERA has been given a fundamental responsibility by the Government in the context of looking at propositions the Government is considering for the disposal of State assets. The Deputy is also aware that the programme for Government commits the Government to the sale of €2 billion worth of assets over the period of the programme. The McCarthy list was well in excess of that figure and it is well known that the troika will look for substantially more than it. NewERA and Dr. Fitzpatrick have been given responsibility for the accurate evaluation of the value of assets, the economic impact and the timelines involved. NewERA will report to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Government will make its decision, with the line Minister involved if, for example, it related to any of the semi-State assets the Government considered it was appropriate to sell.

I do not accept this represents any downgrading of the position. NewERA is a branch of the NTMA and managed and advised largely by NTMA personnel who are all exceptionally well qualified. This is not a new costly quango which is being set up to deal with this issue. The Deputy has a habit of harking back to before the general election. He talks about individual party programmes. I accept parties are entitled to have individual perspectives on how they see the future-----

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