Sale of State Assets

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 December 2013

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Questions (132)

Lucinda Creighton

Question:

132. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total number of staff within his Department or NewERA who have been working on the sale of Bord Gáis Energy; the total cost to his Department for any third party service that was engaged in the context of preparation for the sale of Bord Gáis Energy; if he will publish any third-party reports advising on the sale of Bord Gáis Energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51772/13]

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

A total of six officials from my Department were involved to varying extents in the work of the Working Group and Steering Group overseeing the sale process for Bord Gáis Energy, in addition to their other duties. No external resources were retained by the Department for the purpose of the transaction process. Nor did the Department directly engage or incur any expenses in respect of third party services relating to the process. This was undertaken by the NewERA shareholding unit of the NTMA, which operates under the aegis of my colleague the Minister for Finance. The reports prepared by third party advisors for the Working and Steering Groups are commercially sensitive and I do not propose to publish them.