Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----and the artificial competition that was created on foot of a decision by the then Government to prevent one State company from competing with another in order that it might build up an asset. There was a ridiculous situation whereby people were paid a premium to switch from one State company to another and when a critical mass was reached, they were given a further premium to move back. That was an odd way to encourage competition.

The biggest asset to which the people of Ireland require access now is investment in jobs. It is all about jobs, jobs, jobs. We require capital in order that we might invest in job creation. That is what we want to unleash from the meagre resources at our disposal. We have been very discerning in the context of what we have put on the market. We are protecting the transmission lines and, as promised, we are also protecting the ESB as an integrated company. There is no sale of strategic assets.

We are selling off some of the power generating capacity of a State company that will now focus on gas and take on a new responsibility in the form of Irish Water. We are also selling off the overseas assets of an energy company because we need money to invest in our economy, not that of Spain or the UK.

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