Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the Members who spoke and who raised important and constructive points. I noted the presence of Sinn Féin Member throughout the debate and I want to acknowledge that. I acknowledge the important points raised by that party and others. The Department officials who are here with me have taken note of all the significant points that were made and any questions that I cannot or will not have time to answer today will be responded to by the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, on Committee Stage.

There are a couples of points I want to clarify. The first is the question of why the company is being sold. In November 2010 the memorandum of understanding agreed between the then Government and the EU-IMF - that is, the bailout programme - committed to setting appropriate targets for the possible privatisation of State-owned assets. The details were to be informed by the recommendations of an bord snip nua, a review which was then ongoing. The troika initially mentioned a figure of €5 billion at its first meeting with the new Government, and all of that money was to pay down debt. The figure committed to in the programme for Government was €2 billion and, following further discussion, a figure of €3 billion was agreed after the troika agreed that a proportion of the proceeds would go towards reinvestment for job creation. Subsequently, the current programme of asset disposal was agreed with the troika.

I agree with all the Members who said that Bord Gáis Éireann is a valuable State company. It is a dynamic, successful company which has delivered real benefits for Irish consumers and it has invested and grown in the competitive electricity generation and supply business. A number of Members also underscored the importance of avoiding a fire sale. There will be no fire sale. I can confirm that this accords with our intention. The position we held in negotiations with the troika is that there will be no fire sale, that assets will be sold on acceptable terms and at a price that achieves fair value, and that key strategic assets, such as our electricity and gas transmission and distribution systems, are not for sale and will be retained in State ownership. There is no question of key transmission assets being sold. Neither is there any question, as raised by a number of Members, that Irish Water will ever be privatised. I want to assure all of the Members in the House that such will be the situation. Clearly, some of that arises from the lessons learned by the sale of Telecom Éireann, when the network itself was sold, which was a disastrous decision made by a previous Government.

In his opening remarks, the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte stated the Government's "overriding objectives of Irish energy policy remain security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability." These objectives resonate well with the proposal within this Bill. The current reality is that we are heavily dependent on gas for electricity generation. This Bill will support Bord Gáis Éireann's strategic gas network business and will ensure absolutely that it remains in State ownership. The Bill specifically provides that Bord Gáis Éireann may not sell the gas network subsidiary and it is vitally important to remember that this is the intention of the Bill.

Finally, I want to state that energy is a vital issue for the country and the community. There are many controversies about energy infrastructure. There is controversy about hydraulic fracturing. There are controversies about oil and gas. Everybody agrees it is critical that there be competition in energy. When John Murphy turns on his cooker or light switch, it does not matter to him who is making the profit on the gas. What he wants is to have it as cheap as possible for him. If we have an open competitive market, the regulator will decide the price. It is the regulator who decides the price of the energy. It is not the case that a company, whether private or public, can do whatever it wants. It cannot and it will not, and that is why the regulator is there.

I affirm that Aurora Telecom will remain with Bord Gáis Networks in State ownership. That company is not being sold. A question about industrial relations issues was raised by Sinn Féin. The party made a balanced contribution in that regard. I affirm that negotiations on industrial relations issues are ongoing between the Bord Gáis Éireann management team and the group of unions and no final decisions have been taken, but I want to assure Members that the Bord Gáis Éireann pension scheme remains fully funded.

I ask Members to submit their amendments, if this Bill is passed today, as quickly as possible for Committee Stage and I thank Members for their contributions.

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