I move amendment No. 1:
In page 2, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following subsection:
"(2) Subsection (1) shall only have effect provided that the Company will not be sold, or otherwise disposed of, without the prior consent of Dáil Éireann.".
This amendment proposes the insertion of a new subsection in the Bill. In my Second Stage contribution I highlighted the strategic importance of this State asset. I also pointed out that Fine Gael have no objections in principle to the sale of State assets and will judge each proposed transaction on its merits. Because of the strategic importance of this company to this island economy no attempt should be made to dispose of it without the prior consent of Dáil Éireann.
Deputy Rabbitte said that my contribution appeared to be somewhat more ambiguous than that of Deputy Moynihan. It was not in the slightest bit ambiguous. I spelled out clearly the approach of Fine Gael which is that we have no objections in principle to the sale of State assets or the privatisation of State companies and that we shall judge each transaction on its merits. What I am trying to ensure with this amendment is that because of the strategic importance of this company it will not be disposed of without the prior consent of Dáil Éireann. This is the perfectly logical and reasonable approach to take.
Reference was also made to the fact that I referred to some outrageous trade union practices. I also pointed out that these were not approved of by the main trade union movement and that it was only a fringe group who engaged in very poor practices but I wish to take this opportunity to say that I strongly support the attitude adopted by the current management and unions who have been successful in turning around the company and who have entered into a two year agreement. I wish to put that on the record lest the comments I made are taken out of context.
I have tabled this amendment not only because of the exceptional importance of this asset to an island economy but also because I am concerned about what happened in the case of Tara Mines where contractual arrangements were entered into on behalf of the Minister of the day and the company who purchased that State company for $50 million which prohibited the Minister making public the details of the agreement and which in the opinion of the Attorney General precluded the Minister in making known the details of the agreement to Members of this House. That is a very undesirable practice. It is unacceptable that very valuable State assets can be sold off without anyone being held accountable to this House. I ask the House if this is a desirable practice. It is not and not only is it an undemocratic practice it is one fraught with dangers as far as the State is concerned. I do not want to make any allegations as to what could happen but Members can use their imaginations.
I am not only referring to the possible sale of B & I but to the sale of any State asset. This must be seen to be done at arms length and above all someone must be held accountable to Parliament as required by the Constitution when such assets are disposed of. Therefore I have two reasons for putting down this amendment. In relation to the disposal of any State company, be it through the offer of shares or some other form, some one should be held accountable to Parliament and contractual arrangements should not be entered into between the person buying the asset and the Minister which would leave open the possibility of the Minister being sued for breach of contract if he divulges to this House the details of that agreement. This practice is totally unacceptable and fraught with danger and it must be eliminated in any future sale of any State asset such as Irish Life but specifically in the sale of this important company.
I ask the House to support this amendment to ensure that the company will not be sold or disposed of without the prior consent of Dáil Éireann. This point is self explanatory. I made it in my contribution on Second Stage and I do so again now. I ask the Minister to accept the amendment.