Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

The Minister's statement of reluctance to sell off State assets or parts thereof was genuine. I urge him to listen to his instinct. I urge his colleagues in government to do likewise. This proposal is a classic case of short-term thinking. Deputy Ó Cuív was right, in that the McCarthy report, if it did nothing else, shone a light on the commercial success of the semi-State sector in terms of dividends and taxes returned to the State and employment over a sustained period. The report also reflected the fact that the companies' assets are not Johnny-come-latelies. They have been built through generations of effort and investment by citizens.

This was the best bit of the report. Otherwise, it was a shoddy piece of work. It suggested wholesale selling without a compelling argument as to how doing so would enhance the return to the State, our competitiveness, our infrastructure or employment opportunities.

Other than his reluctance, the Minister also reminded the House of the need to address our €15 billion budgetary shortfall. He is correct, but the question confronting us is whether the sale of State assets in whole or in part assists or hinders the process in the long term. Sinn Féin is of the opinion that State assets must be kept in public ownership. We do not argue this from a dogmatic ideological platform, but on a pragmatic basis. In the energy sector, ESB and Bord Gáis are large, profitable organisations that we have not leveraged correctly in terms of infrastructural provision and employment opportunities. We want the Government and the State to do this but the only way of doing so is to keep them 100% in public ownership.

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