Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister provide a timetable for the receipt of €1.2 billion from the privatisation of Bord Gáis Energy, the parent company of Irish Water? The Government has demanded a dividend of €400 million from the ESB, of which €140 million has been achieved through the sale of a plant in the United Kingdom. I understand the company has decided to sell two power plants in the midlands to achieve the balance of the dividend. What are the expected proceeds from the sale of the national lottery this year? Until last year, the Government insisted that half the proceeds from the sale of State assets would be used for debt reduction. Now that the troika is no longer in town, will the Minister confirm that is no longer the case? Perhaps he does not wish to say that loudly as he did not refer to it this morning. I would welcome his views either way.

I am concerned that the Minister is saying there are people on the public payroll with no job to do who should perhaps move on. He also stated he would consider using the proceeds of sales of State assets to pay for a redundancy programme. Using this income to eliminate rather than create jobs is new to me.

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