Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I formally second my colleague's amendment regarding the sale of AIB shares. It would be a nonsense if this House did not express an opinion on this issue. This will probably be the biggest fiscal decision made in the past two years. We have young children in the Public Gallery today. We constantly hear of the problems and the need for investment in schools. We constantly hear of the need for investment in our health service, in our roads and in public transport. On many occasions Senators in this House have called for investment in the motorway connecting Limerick and Cork. I, myself, have been seeking investment in public transport, specifically in respect of Dublin. There is a proposal for Dublin public transport that would require an investment of €1 billion in the near future.

If the Minister cannot come to the House, I think we should have an open debate in the House and the motion should be voted on. Over a week ago, I put the Leader on notice that we would be tabling such a motion, and he asked us to delay it until the Minister was in the House. I listened to the Minister's contribution and I felt there was no justification for the sale at this stage. In fact, we will receive approximately €250 million in dividends from AIB which will come back to the taxpayer in 2017. There has been no cost-benefit analysis on future profits that could be made through dividends from the State's shares in AIB.

Under the current rules, if this sale goes ahead, that €3 billion will be used to pay down debt. That would be 1% - big deal. If we delay, we have an opportunity to make the sale in autumn and to make sure that money can be invested in much-needed infrastructure projects. The Labour Party has already started discussions with our sister parties across Europe with regard to changes in the fiscal rules and has received great support in the matter. The recently elected President of France has also indicated a need to change the fiscal rules in this area. There is no benefit in proceeding with the sale this month. If we delay until the autumn, there is an opportunity for an additional €3 billion to be invested in much-needed infrastructure throughout this country. I strongly believe we need to debate this in this House today.