asked the Minister for Finance when it is proposed to introduce legislation to allow the public to purchase shares in some semi-State bodies.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Semi-State Bodies Shares.
45.
In the case of a number of State-sponsored companies the existing legislation already provides for share participation by the public. I am not at present considering any legislative proposals such as the Deputy has in mind. As I indicated to the Deputy in reply to a similar question on 3rd May, a major difficulty in this context is that most of the commercial State-sponsored concerns do not have profit records sufficient to attract the public to purchase shares in them.
The Government did intimate that they would change the whole financial structure of the semi-State companies. It was to be part of their new socialist policy. Has this socialist part of the policy been dropped?
The Deputy, as I mentioned on a previous occasion, is trying to be mischievious. We have stated that we accept, in principle, that members of the public should be afforded an opportunity, where the public interest is not in any way jeopardised, to purchase shares in State-sponsored concerns. That continues to be our policy. There are a number of State-sponsored bodies in which the private sector can purchase shares and as the situation develops, the economy improves, and the performance of the many companies improves, I anticipate that we will be introducing legislation to enable the private sector to invest in them. We will not be governed by any doctrinaire approach. We will look at every situation in a pragmatic manner.
The Minister is refusing to share good stock or vice versa. The people should be given more say in these matters.
Confusion exists in Deputy Moore's mind.
The Minister is wriggling out of answering the question.