Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

We mentioned the national lottery licence earlier and I would consider that to be a State asset. Does it come under the remit of these discussions and if not, why not? Is the troika happy the sale of the licence should proceed? I would consider it as much a State asset as some of the other assets being sold. On several occasions Ministers have said there will be no fire sale of State assets. However, twice in his response the Minister mentioned sales will commence next year. There is no guarantee that we will not remain in a fire sale situation next year. What is the Minister's position with regard to the timetable for sales if global economic conditions are not suitable for a sale of assets next year? Has the troika a problem with moving the sale out for a further 12 months? If State assets are to be sold, everybody here wants them to be sold at the best possible price in the interest of the taxpayer, rather than a quick sale in the interest of the European Central Bank.

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