The proposals outlined in the McCarthy review of State assets have little to offer the State at this time, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said.
Responding to publication of the review chaired by economist Colm McCarthy, Congress general secretary David Begg said he disagreed with the recommendation that ESB and Bord Gáis be transferred to Eirgrid.
Mr Begg said no value would be released by such a transaction and that "it may even end up costing money".
"Congress also notes that the Eirgrid proposal runs counter to the prevailing practice in Europe…," he said.
Regarding the proposed disposal of assets such as licences, leases, Bord na Móna and Coillte, Mr Begg said many were already highly leveraged and that the net return on their disposal would be minimal.
“Therefore the initial response of Congress to this report is that it has little to offer the country at this time,” he concluded.
Trade union Impact warned against the sale of the State’s stake in Aer Lingus, as recommended in the review.
Impact, which represents pilots and cabin crew at Aer Lingus, said the recommendation resembled the haste at which the State sold off Eircom assets when the telephone company was floated in 1999, which Impact said considerably set back the development of Ireland’s broadband infrastructure.
Mr McCarthy said the Government should seek to sell its 25.1 per cent share in the airline as soon as it is “opportune”. The State has previously rejected two bids from Ryanair for its stake in Aer Lingus.
The report says Aer Lingus owns 23 slot pairs at Heathrow airport in London which had reportedly changed hands for more than £10 million each in recent deals involving other airlines.
It argues that given the level of traffic travelling on the Dublin-Heathrow route, the public would not be under-served if market forces were left in charge of the route.
Impact said that having recognised the monetary and strategic value of the slots, the report still recommended their sale which appeared to be a contradiction.
“We have learned, very much to our cost, what it means to abandon core assets that serve the interests of the state, its citizens and its industries in haste. Impact believes that this recommendation is at risk of replicating those errors,” the union said.
Impact also voiced its opposition to the proposed sale of the business operations of State forestry body Coillte. The report said the replanting obligation attached to which and grant-aided forestry activities should be discontinued.
The Union said this would create a “carte blanche” to run down the forestry industry in Ireland.
Meanwhile, Unite trade union, which represents electricity workers, has vowed to oppose the proposal to break up and sell the ESB.
“Colm McCarthy’s latest proposal to break up the ESB will do fundamental damage to Ireland and will be opposed using every means at our disposal by Unite members,” the union said.
“Short term expediency cannot be allowed destroy the ESB and it’s importance not only to its workers but to the country as a whole.”
