Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Taoiseach for the words of commiseration with my colleague, Deputy Micheál Martin, which are deeply appreciated. We fully appreciate that the Taoiseach suffered a similar loss recently and I thank him for his kind words.

I welcome the Taoiseach's reference to a sizeable proportion, although I think we would all agree that all of the money should be used for job creation and investment for work. At the end of the day, the only resolution of the financial problems is to grow the economy.

Is the Taoiseach saying the Government is still committed to selling a minority stake in the whole of the ESB, including the critical, strategic infrastructure of the networks of both transmission and distribution? Will he not agree there could be long-term economic consequences if part of the basic strategic infrastructure, such as the ESB, gas or water networks, is privatised? Does the Taoiseach agree with his colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who seems to believe and with whom I would not necessarily argue on the point that the sale of the strategic infrastructure of Eircom, even though it achieved a very high price at the time and which would not be possible now, might not have been altogether wise, despite the price? At the moment, a significant price will not be achieved because the economy is depressed. Will the Taoiseach agree that no sales should proceed in the foreseeable future considering the state of the economy? Will he confirm whether the Government is still open to selling shares in the basic infrastructure of this country which could result in a very negative long-term effect on job creation?

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