Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this important debate at a time when our country demands real leadership as we navigate our way through this crisis. There are no easy options for any Government or Deputy. When the Opposition makes reasonable and practical proposals, the Government will welcome them and give them due consideration. However, where proposals are unrealistic and many of the arguments make no economic sense, we must approach them differently.

I welcome the Government's reasonable, considered and pragmatic approach to this issue. Under an initial proposal, a minority stake in the ESB was to be sold. Having considered the idea in depth and examined the complexities involved, the Government has instead proposed alternatives whereby non-strategic assets, such as the ESB's power generation capacity, can be considered for sale.

As many Deputies have stated, lessons have been learned from the farcical sale of Eircom, the result of which has seen State development, agencies, businesses and our education system deprived of network access. Lessons have been learned and such mistakes will not be made again.

I welcome the fact that this will not be a fire sale. The markets will be approached reasonably so that value can be found. It is important to remember that the Government has renegotiated with the troika to ensure that one third of proceeds raised in excess of €1 billion will go directly towards economic stimulus and investment measures.

I am amazed that Sinn Féin, which continuously calls for stimulus and investment, is opposing a realistic mechanism that will deliver them and create jobs. Sinn Féin is the party of negativity. All it does is oppose everything and it does not offer realistic solutions. Sinn Féin takes a populist approach that the Irish people will see through. Of most concern is that Sinn Féin believes itself. I respect its members as elected Deputies, in that they also have mandates, but their rhetoric in the House is concerning. This week, the way their colleague managed printers and ink displayed how they might manage State assets if they got anywhere near power. This is not a cheap shot. It drives directly to the question of how responsible Sinn Féin would be in government. If this is Sinn Féin's type of responsibility, God help us all.

We need a responsible, considered approach to navigating our way through this crisis. The Government will sweat off some of our non-strategic assets and gain the capacity to introduce investment and create jobs, thereby helping the economy. I welcome this.

I listened to the Sinn Féin Deputies' contributions. What they stated about selling Coillte's lands was not true. The Government has gone to extreme lengths to point out that those lands will be retained in Coillte. However, we will consider the sale of the harvest on those lands, just as any productive farmer would. Our exports are as strong as they are because productivity and growth in the agricultural sector are strong. The Government is right to consider sweating that asset as much as possible to create a new revenue stream and to return the country to work.

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