Bord Gáis Privatisation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 December 2013

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Questions (229)

Lucinda Creighton

Question:

229. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the total number of staff within his Department or NewEra who have been working on the sale of Bord Gáis Energy; the total cost from his Department for any third party service that was engaged in the context or preparation of a 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. [51771/13]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

A total of four officials from my Department were involved in the Working Group and Steering Group overseeing the sale process for the Bord Gais Energy business. No additional resources, either internal or external were retained by the Department for the purpose of the process and officials undertook this work as part of their normal duties. My Department did not directly engage or incur any expenses in respect of third party services relating to the sale process as this was undertaken by the NewERA shareholding unit of the NTMA. The NTMA operates under the aegis of the Department of Finance and I have no statutory responsibility for this agency.