Nobody is in “any rush” to sell State assets, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said in a row in the Dáil over the McCarthy report that recommends the sale of a number of State assets with the potential to raise €5 billion.
Mr Gilmore had told the Dáil the Government was “presented with a report on the sale of State assets by the McCarthy group. That report will be considered by the Government and by individual departments. If any decisions are made on foot of the report, they will be brought before the House".
Socialist TD Clare Daly said the report should be discussed “not at some eventual day when the Cabinet has discussed it, but immediately upon our return”.
She said that 40,000 semi-State workers “are trembling, having listened to the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, on the radio this morning talking about his imminent decision to proceed with the sale of State assets, which is a threat to those workers”.
Socialist party TD Joe Higgins referred to the comments by Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin that the Government would not delay a decision on the sale of State assets and asked if the Labour Party was “seriously prepared to be part of this neoliberal hucksters deal, which will involve pawning the assets of the people to pay off moneylenders”.
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was “clear the Government is now prepared to go down the cul-de-sac of selling State assets in a bid to pay bank and bondholder debts. Is the Government in the course of yet another U-turn, whereby the proceeds of the privatisation programme will not find their way into stimulus and investment in jobs but will, in accordance with the views of the IMF and EU, be used for debt writedown?” she asked.
The Tánaiste said, however, Mr Howlin's comments were to the effect there would not be a delay in making a decision about whether or not to sell. He pointed out that the report was clear that “there should not be a fire sale of State assets”. And he pledged that a debate on the report would be held as soon as possible after Easter.
He added that there was no legislation and no proposals on the table “at present. Nothing will be sold by anybody before the debate takes place in the House”.
He stressed: “The issue of disposing of State assets, if and when it arises, will only be considered in the light of market conditions. I reassure Deputy Higgins that nobody is in any rush to dispose of State assets. If there is any disposal of State assets to be addressed, a decision on that will be made by the Government.”