Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue of the sale of State assets. First, I listened carefully to the Minister's contribution and acknowledge some of the points he made. However, I hope the Minister will understand me when I state I was shocked by the contents of the second paragraph of his script. I hope the Minister did not mean what he actually stated because he mentioned people referring to this issue as being akin to selling off the family silver. Immediately afterwards, he went on to ask "what family, if faced with real financial difficulties and a substantial amount of debt, would not consider" whatever assets and investments it possessed to ascertain whether it could draw on some of them to reduce its vulnerability. That means the Minister is telling families in financial difficulties that they should consider drawing on the value of their family homes to reduce their vulnerability.

See this speech in context