Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is where my agreement with the Minister will probably end. This Bill is bad policy and bad legislation. Sinn Féin will oppose it at every Stage. There is a dark irony in that an economic crisis which many people believed would mean the death of neoliberalism has instead been used to entrench neoliberalism. Deregulation caused the euro crisis and one would logically expect that State intervention and regulation would be the means used to solve it. However, despite the crushing cost of bailouts no major reforms through intervention or regulation have been implemented at either national or European level. We have instead witnessed the promotion of a neoliberal agenda for the privatisation of State assets and public services. This Bill forms part of that agenda. It is part of a wider effort to get rid of public assets in a fire sale and to deregulate many sectors. Bord Gáis is just one of the many organisations threatened by this Government. It is our role as Opposition Members to oppose these moves and point out where the policy is misdirected.

It is ironic that the Bill is being introduced by a Labour Party Minister. Just over one year ago, members attending a Labour Party conference gave a resounding message to the party leadership that they would not accept the sale of State assets. It is now 2013 and a Labour Party Minister is introducing a Bill to sell Bord Gáis Energy.

If I were a card-holding member of the Labour Party I would feel disheartened and disillusioned, not only with the Labour Party but with the political process and party leaders who do not listen to the policies put forward at their own party conferences.

Paul Krugman, a well known and respected economist, stated: "The drive for austerity was about using the crisis, not solving it. And it still is." Clearly the sale of Bord Gáis Energy forms part of a wider neoliberal agenda which uses the current economic climate to further a certain political ideology. Over the past two decades close to $1 trillion US dollars' worth of state-owned enterprises have been privatised in more than 100 countries. Restructuring, privatisation and deregulation of electricity started as a political ideology in Chile, New Zealand and the UK, but has spread to the EU, the US, and the rest of the world. The troika's promotion of privatisation is clearly an ideological approach in support of an ever more discredited neoliberal economy and benefits only a small group of transnational corporations. Their insistence on entrenching neoliberalism is also profoundly anti-democratic.

When given the chance, European citizens have voted against privatisation. This was demonstrated in the resounding rejection of water privatisation in the 2011 referendum in Italy, where they were fortunate enough to have a referendum on the matter. Other citizens across Europe are building powerful anti-privatisation campaigns to stop public services bring sold off. However, there are clear winners from these policies. Private companies have been able to scoop up public assets in a crisis of low prices, and banks involved in reckless lending have been paid back at the expense of citizens. The corporate elite is using the pretext of the crisis to hammer away at hard-earned rights and benefits of workers and citizens gained over the past number of decades. The sale of Bord Gáis Energy forms just another part of this long list of attacks on public goods.

Ireland has been described by the European Commission as the poster child of austerity, and it uses us as an example to other countries across Europe, yet the reality is we remain crippled by high levels of unemployment and our young people are emigrating in tens of thousands. If we are the poster child for the rest of Europe then it clearly shows Europe is not in a healthy state.

Let us look at the company the Government is about to privatise. Bord Gáis is a duel-fuel all-island business which serves more than 825,000 customers with gas and electricity North and South. It also operates a 445 MV combined cycle gas turbine plan at Whitesgate in Co. Cork, a large-scale portfolio of onshore wind assets and Firmus Energy, an energy company operating in the Six Counties. In 2001 Bord Gáis Energy entered the electricity supply market and in 2009 it entered the residential electricity supply market. It has been a very successful company. In 2012 Bord Gáis Energy had a gross operating profit of €79.4 million compared to €44.3 million in 2011. Bord Gáis Energy is by far the biggest player in the domestic gas market at present, with a 60.97% market share in June 2013. The question must be asked as to why the Government is selling off such a successful company. Bord Gáis Energy is hardly a millstone around the necks of taxpayers as it returns a profit to the State. Therefore the sale of Bord Gáis Energy can only be described as an ideological move, one which is fuelled by the austerity agenda of the troika.

Reports anticipate the sale of Bord Gáis could raise between €1 billion and €1.5 billion. However recent estimates have predicted the figure to be at the lower end of this scale, and it may be even lower. Half of the sale proceeds will be available to fund employment-enhancing projects of a commercial nature, with the other half destined to pay down debt. The fire sale of state assets has been shown to be risky, particularly during economic recessions. We only have to look to Greece to learn projections as to what the sale of state assets would generate had to be significantly downgraded, as severe austerity wards off investment.

The Minister has given assurances jobs at Bord Gáis Energy will be protected. How can this commitment be delivered upon? Under a policy of deregulation and privatisation jobs are never as secure as they are under state control. An OECD report on privatising state-owned enterprises found, in the short term at least, restructuring and privatisation result in job losses, even in cases where the sector is growing and the economy is creating new employment opportunities. Is the Minister able to guarantee the current employees of Bord Gáis Energy will keep their jobs and that their livelihoods will be protected? How will such a guarantee be delivered?

Ireland, in the greater scheme of things, is a small country. Bord Gáis Energy controls 60.97% of the domestic gas market and a significant portion of the electricity market. The sale of Bord Gáis Energy to a private operator will likely be handing a monopoly into private hands, especially with regard to the gas market. Ireland does not have the infrastructure enjoyed by many other European countries. Developing and expanding infrastructure is part of the wider debate in which the Minister and several of his colleagues engage. However, when a state asset such as an energy supply company passes into private hands the information to inform debate becomes less and less available. In a privately run industry, information is valuable and confers commercial advantage. No company will disclose investment plans, maintenance schedules, upgrading or capacity requirements unless mandated by a regulatory authority or government inquiries. Where is the requirement in this legislation to provide such information?

The sale of Bord Gáis Energy also has a direct impact on an important debate taking place in Ireland at present. Bord Gáis Energy is involved in the development of wind energy projects. We, as a party, fully support wind energy development. Ireland has a target of 20% renewable energy by the year 2020 and we have consistently called for a national strategy to be laid out for this target to be reached. As part of this, we believe it is imperative the State and semi-State companies play a major role in the development of wind energy projects. This, we believe, is the only proper and sustainable measure for the proper development of wind as a renewable source. What we have seen far too much of in Ireland is private companies taking the lead on the development of wind energy projects without proper planning or consultation with local communities. Semi-State companies need to take the lead in developing wind energy projects.

If Bord Gáis Energy is to be sold, this removes the option of such initiatives being taken. Those who will buy Bord Gáis Energy will also take with them the wind farm projects that are currently in place. If Ireland is to reach its target of 20% renewable energy by 2020, it needs to have semi-State bodies at its disposal to make it happen. The Minister and the people of this country cannot be left waiting for manna from the table of private companies.

Fuel poverty is a serious issue which affects many people in Ireland each and every year. Those who are worst affected are those on the margins of society such as the elderly, the infirm, the disabled, the ill, single-parent families and the unemployed. The sale of Bord Gáis Energy out of State control and into the hands of private corporations will surely have a negative impact on the fight against fuel poverty. As I have already stated, Bord Gáis Energy has over 60% control of the domestic gas market, meaning that the company which would take over the ownership of Bord Gáis Energy would be free to raise its prices as it sees fit. This news will not be of comfort to many of those who are already fearing the winter months ahead. Privatisation is bad for the weakest in our society and should not be forced upon them.

If revenue generation is the main goal, there are other alternatives. Commercial semi-State companies can play a vital role in delivering employment activation measures and training. Following the collapse of the housing market, ESB Networks agreed a programme of on-the-job training with FÁS to take on 400 redundant electrical apprentices who were left unable to complete their craft qualifications. It is exactly this kind of intervention that can assist the State in rebuilding the economy, creating employment and creating a skills base fit for the 21st century.

The energy sector also has the potential and capacity to use its expertise and reputation to fund smart metering technology, resulting in more jobs, reduced emissions and lower utility bills. Sinn Féin in its prebudget submission outlined a number of proposals on how to adequately deal with semi-State companies. We want to see NewERA replaced with a semi-State strategy group which would include CEOs from the semi-States working directly with the Ministers for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Social Protection and Education and Skills. The group would report directly to the Taoiseach and would be responsible for delivering a strategic job creation and training project. We believe all annual dividends paid to the State by commercial semi-State companies must be reinvested in employment activation and training measures as identified by the semi-State strategy group and signed off on by the Taoiseach. In case anybody might think we are looking for more money for the CEOs of semi-State companies, I repeat our request that all CEOs of semi-State companies should be capped at €100,000 per annum, which would save this State €3 million per annum.

We have very short memories, and the Government has a very short memory. If evidence were needed of how privatisation of semi-State companies does not work in Ireland, we need look no further than the sell-off of Telecom Éireann. The privatisation of this company has meant we have lowest level of high-speed broadband in the European Union. While I accept this is now being worked on, privatisation was an abject failure which has severely inhibited our chance of developing industry, especially along the western seaboard. The sale of Telecom Éireann was part of the same neoliberal agenda that is today pushing the sale of Bord Gáis Energy. The selling off of Telecom Éireann was a mistake and the sale of Bord Gáis Energy is a mistake.

The Fine Gael and Labour Government must take full responsibility for the sale of Bord Gáis Energy. While the troika has indicated it wants the deficit reduced in a certain timeframe, it has not indicated that we must sell off our energy company. This decision rests on the head of the Government. Future generations will remember this move as the Government falling upon the sword of the neoliberal agenda. We will oppose it at every stage.

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