Seán Barrett
Ceist:11 Mr. S. Barrett asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if the proposed purchaser of Irish Steel has at this stage fulfilled all his contractual obligations to enable the sale of the company to proceed.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Privatisation of Irish Steel.
Joe Sherlock
Ceist:26 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the present position regarding the future of Irish Steel; if he will outline the nature of the contractual obligations which he told Dáil Éireann in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 36 of 5 December 1989 last, the proposed purchaser had not yet met; if these obligations have been met; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Liam Kavanagh
Ceist:32 Mr. Kavanagh asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he has any plans for the privatisation of any of the agencies or companies under his control in 1990; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 26 and 32 together.
Irish Steel Limited is the only company or agency under my control for which there are current privatisation plans. The Government are of the view that the best way to secure the future of Irish Steel and its workforce is by way of association with a foreign company with the necessary financial, marketing and technical resources to sustain it through any future downturn in the market and to provide it with the means of alleviating some of the inherent disadvantages from which it currently suffers.
The present position in relation to the sale of Irish Steel is that I have engaged Investment Bank of Ireland to explore all available options for the company. I expect that this process will be completed within the next month and the Government will then make a decision on the matter.
It would not be appropriate to disclose the contractual obligations of the present or any other bidder on grounds of commercial confidentiality.
Is the Minister indicating that the existing arrangement between a German company and Irish Steel is in jeopardy, given the fact he has engaged consultants to look at other possibilities? I would not ask the Minister to say anything which would jeopardise any possible deal being done as I recognise a very large number of jobs of great importance to the economy rests on the outcome. Is it likely that the deal with the German company will proceed and, if not, is the Minister satisfied there are other options available?
My concern has been to ensure that the available options are examined before a final decision is made. That process has been ongoing for some time. As I indicated in my earlier reply, I anticipate that this process will be completed within a month and the Government will then be in a position to make a final decision.
I share the caution about saying anything which would impede the conclusion of this contract, but may I pursue the Minister on the question of commercial confidentiality? If the change of ownership is as close as we understand it to be there is no reason the contractual obligations referred to in Question No. 26 ought not be disclosed to the Dáil seeing that it is a State company. Is the Minister saying that at no stage in the future he will reveal these terms?
I am not saying that at no stage in the future will the terms agreed with a possible buyer not be disclosed. While negotiations are ongoing and potentially more than one party may be interested, it would be both unwise and unfair to make any disclosure about the terms being offered by a bidder.
Therefore, at this point more than one bidder is involved.
As I made clear in my reply, I have engaged a merchant bank to explore all available options for the company.