Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

That is a great pity. We have debated this matter before and I believe the Minister is making a great mistake and that his thinking is short term. Should the Government proceed in these matters it will amount to a fire sale of valuable strategic assets. I am consistently baffled that the Minister describes the disposal of a 10% share of the ESB as playing with a non-strategic asset.

The Government has been invited to consider options. No obligation has been placed on the Government in the memorandum of understanding. Here is the thing - we met the troika and we put our concerns to them on this specific issue. I put it to them directly, asking whether they were a part of a discussion or a decision making process in respect of the semi-State companies and the ESB in particular. They informed me that they were not party to such a discussion and that it was not for them to advise, instruct or guide the Government on the matter. They told me clearly that the decision was taken by Fine Gael and the Labour Party - by the Government - independently and irrespective of the troika. For the purposes of clarity, will the Minister tell me who was right and who was wrong because I have conflicting versions of events now?

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