Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I would first like to put a general proposition to the Minister. Does he agree that the sale of publicly owned assets was and is an extremely short-sighted policy, one which was driven by the ruthless neoliberal outlook? Does he also agree that the troika's forcing of the people to sell their assets in order to pay bankers and bondholders debts, for which they had no responsibility, was a criminal abuse economically of the people?

I asked the Minister in my second question what funds had been realised by the State from these privatisations and where the funds had gone, but he did not answer that question comprehensively. Perhaps he might do so now.

With regard to the privatisation of Bord Gáis Energy, will the Minister set out the rationale for what has been agreed to in this regard? Will he also comment on an article in last Sunday's Sunday Business Post which stated the enterprise value of Bord Gáis Energy had been sold for €210 million, of which €60 million would have been available in the normal course of the sale of that section of the company, and that the book of 680,000 customers was valued at €110 million, leaving €40 million for the Whitegate power plant which was built a few years ago for €400 million. Will the Minister explain the incredible divergence?

See this speech in context