Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

We put the Government under pressure in respect of the household charge and the septic tank charge. We will put the Government under pressure on this issue of maintaining State assets in full public ownership. We will hold the Government to account in respect of job creation. We will continue to do this and we make no apology for it.

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, referred to the troika as "our external partners", an interesting turn of phrase. He would have us believe that the troika has forced the Government on the issue of the disposal of State assets. I put it to the Minister of State that this is not what those in the troika told us. We have met them twice and pressed them on the issue and they have said categorically that any sale of State assets and all decisions pertaining to that matter are a matter for the Government. I suppose they are the Government's external partners because the Government has no beef with whatever the troika strategy happens to be. The Government is in complete agreement with the troika in terms of impoverishing the State's public infrastructure. It seems the Government marches to the beat of private wealth and public squalor.

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