Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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330. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the last occasion on which a full valuation of Ireland's commercial semi-State companies was carried out; the current cumulative valuation of these assets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20192/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Each commercial semi-State company publishes its annual report and accounts, which include information on the assets and liabilities of the company. In addition, the Finance Accounts published annually by the Minister for Finance includes, under Statement 1.8(A), information on the State's shareholding and the State's net assets in a number of State companies. However, I am not aware of any full valuation of the entire portfolio of Ireland's commercial semi-State companies having ever being carried out.  

The report of the Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities, published in April 2011, considered this question and noted that the total book value of the State's main commercial companies was approximately €8.3 billion at that time, based on aggregate shareholder funds as reported in their then most recently published accounts. However, that report cautioned that figure should not be taken as a headline estimate of the actual value of the portfolio of companies. The balance sheet book values of these assets reflect accounting conventions and, in some cases, notional or historical values of key assets, such as land, which may have been assigned to the companies on establishment. They are therefore not a guide to the actual market value of the companies as valuations depend on many factors.  

Indicative valuations could of course be undertaken on each of the individual State companies, but actual market value can really only be established accurately in the context of a sale transaction (whereby there is both a willing buyer and a willing seller), and there are no plans to sell any further commercial state companies.