Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

The Deputy is engaging in tautology. It is the Government's intention that the new Irish Water entity - this will be put in statute law and debated in the House - will be wholly State owned. Parallel to that, as part of the memorandum of understanding, we have looked at what non-strategic assets we could sell off. The Government has come to the conclusion that allowing for greater competition in the energy sector through the privatisation of the energy generating element of BGE, and for private competition to the wholly owned public entity, the ESB, which will remain as a vertically integrated wholly State company, will be good for the Irish consumer.

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