Vol. 548 No. 2
68 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the status of her Department's claim for ?10 million from a company (details supplied) arising from the company's flotation in 1999; the reason her Department did not insist on a prior written contract for the reimbursement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4376/02]
A proposal relating to the split of the costs of the initial public offer, IPO, between the Government and the company was submitted to the company by my Department on 27 April 1999. However, part of this proposal met with a legal impediment under section 60 of the Companies Act 1963 and it was necessary to consider a revised proposal. This revised proposal was submitted to the company on 25 June 1999. It was not possible to conclude an agreement with the company in advance of the IPO which took place a few days later but the company did confirm that it would enter into meaningful discussions in relation to the issue of the possible sharing of costs. The matter has been the subject of a number of meetings and correspondence with the company but, to date, has not been resolved. My Department is considering what other means are open to it in order to progress this issue.
