Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

On 29 September last, the establishment of NewERA was announced by the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and Minister of State Fergus O'Dowd, who has special responsibility for NewERA. The Government took the decision to establish NewERA to reform the manner in which Government manages its shareholding in the semi-State companies. It is one of the key commitments in the programme for Government and is central to our plans for investment.

NewERA will initially be established on a non-statutory basis as a shareholder executive within the NTMA. It will have responsibility for reviewing capital investment plans of the commercial semi-State companies from a shareholder perspective and will identify possible synergies between investment programmes of different State companies. The companies in question are the ESB, Bord Gáis, EirGrid, Bord na Móna and Coillte.

The decision to establish NewERA is an important element in the Government's strategy to create jobs and promote economic growth. The operation of NewERA will be overseen by the Cabinet committee on economic infrastructure, of which the Minister, Deputy Bruton, is a member.

The Government is doing everything it can to create jobs and improve Irish infrastructure. Part of this is to ensure that critical infrastructure is put in place to allow enterprise to grow now and in the future and take advantage of the opportunities which arise in traditional and emerging sectors.

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