Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I am very concerned at the reports that the State assets on offer will raise nowhere near €3 billion. I am also concerned that the €1 billion that has been earmarked for reinvestment in the economy to boost job creation, which the Minister mentioned, is also said to be at risk. If the money is not raised, what will the Government cut next? My overall view is that we should exert extreme caution in the manner in which we decide to sell any State assets. However, there may be positive developments that cover some of those areas. The OECD study found overwhelming support for the idea that "privatisation brings about a significant increase in the profitability, real output and efficiency of privatised companies". Several notable studies have also shown that fully privatised companies outperform partially privatised ones because the government influence may distort commercial decisions. I am interested in hearing how the Minister would react to that situation. Some of the figures coming particularly from Britain, Hungary and elsewhere in the past have shown that when state assets were sold they were sold at very bad value. We need to be very careful. Is there a danger of a fire sale and that we might sell assets at the wrong time and not get value for money which could do us much more harm than would otherwise be the case?