Selling State Assets

Deputy Olivia Mitchell: I am delighted to get the opportunity to state my support for the disposal of State assets at a time when the best value can be obtained from their sale. There is no question of a fire sale, despite what has been said, nor should there be. I am delighted that not alone is the Government clear about this but so too is the troika.
I do not subscribe to the notion, for either ideological or sentimental reasons, that we should somehow cling to semi-State bodies because of their historical importance. Many of these bodies served us well in the past but there is a time for everything. Now the needs of our nation are different and constantly changing. We require new strategic semi-States to replace those we no longer need and whose disposal can help us finance them. We need broadband, new water sources and distribution systems and to move to renewable energy. To sacrifice these vital services for some false or misplaced ideology or loyalty to the past is to ensure we miss the boat. It reminds me somewhat of Waterford glass, preserved and loved for years in many people’s homes but now sits in charity shops underloved, undervalued and unsold.
We all wish we could have the €3 billion from the sale of some State assets to put into new strategic assets. Instead, we can use €1 billion from the sale for investment in new assets. The remaining €2 billion paying off State debt will not be wasted as the 5% interest on that figure comes to €100 million per annum.
As for those who constantly claim we are getting rid of essential assets, there is no question of losing control over the major distribution networks of the ESB or Bord Gáis. These networks are strategic monopolies and we have learned the lesson of Eircom. There is no need to raise that canard.
Aer Lingus probably should have been sold long ago. The State’s 25% stake was to prevent Ryanair from taking full control, a move which is now prohibited by the Competition Authority. Aer Lingus is in a perilous situation barely making an operating profit and has a significant pension deficit. To be honest it needs the protection of a larger owner. Selling off the stake would be in the airline’s interest in the longer term.
One caveat I have about State asset disposal is that there should be no wholesale gifting of shares to employees in State companies. I know it happened in the past but the taxpayer cannot afford it any longer. It was unnecessary in the past and is certainly unnecessary now. After all, secure well-paid employment is ample reward for working for a State company.