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

There are no new powers conferred on anybody in respect of any of these issues. If, as a Minister of State, I wanted to sell off one of the designated bodies, I could only do so under the existing Acts that govern the sale of the body, should the power exist. There is no question of privatisation or any issue such as that. If the existing legislation, separate from this Bill, exists, then we can or cannot. No new powers are conferred on any body. The last day I gave the example of Irish Water and the potential issue of privatisation. The Act expressly forbids that. One cannot sell it and the legislation does not allow it. The only way to do so is to pass new legislation to change the existing Act. There is no provision in this Bill to allow anyone to override the legislation. Whatever protocols exist in respect of other State bodies also apply to this.

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