Vol. 454 No. 7
33 Kathleen Lynch asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the conditions, if any, being imposed on Bord na Móna as a prerequisite for the proposed equity injection of £120 million; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11442/95]
On 30 May 1995, the Government gave approval, in principle, to the proposal for the injection by the State of equity into Bord na Móna in three tranches in 1995, 1996 and 1997 in order to eliminate £120 million of Bord na Móna's debt and to grant an average reduction of £6 per tonne in the price of milled peat supplied to ESB.
This approval is subject to both the ESB and Bord Na Móna independently fulfilling certain conditions which I have laid down. In the case of Bord na Móna, I have written to the chairman of the board outlining these conditions. The main conditions are: the timing of the reduction in the price of milled peat is to be co-ordinated with my Department and the new peat price can be escalated in line with normal commercial arrangements between the two companies; there will be no further State guarantees in respect of future borrowings by Bord na Móna; and the statutory limit on existing State guarantees will be reduced to the level of the remaining debt in Bord na Móna; the current statutory limit on borrowings by Bord na Móna will be reduced to £80 million; the performance of each operating division is to be clearly shown in the published accounts; the benefits of incorporating these divisions as limited liability companies is to be explored in the context of the legislative amendments which will be required to give effect to this proposal.
I also specified some other conditions. However, due to their commercially sensitive nature, it would not be appropriate for me to divulge them.
