Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Without going over old ground, the Minister of State said that he cannot imagine any circumstances when such issues would not be discussed in this House. I accept that is what the Minister of State genuinely believes. I would never have imagined any circumstances in which we would issue €31 billion of promissory notes without debate in this House but that happened. That is the point I am making. These things do happen. Events overtake. There will be different people holding the position which the Minister of State currently holds who will have different priorities and so on and so forth. Legislation is about putting in place protections. My amendment proposes deletion of this section. If, as the Minister of State says, there could be no circumstance in which there would not be a debate in the Houses of the Oireachtas on the proposed sale of a State asset, then I suggest that provision be made in the Bill during its passage through the Seanad to the effect that the proposed disposal of any interest in a State asset would require debate in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

If the Minister of State genuinely believes in what he is saying, why does he believe my point, if only in respect of disposal, is so wrong? For me, it is a compromise to a compromise but I would rather something than nothing. However, I am very much of the view that the measure should be deleted. At a bare minimum, there needs to be a debate on any disposals that occur.

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