Mervyn Taylor
Ceist:43 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Labour if he has any plans for the commercialisation of any of the activities or services of any agencies under his control in 1990; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Privatisation of State Enterprises.
Mervyn Taylor
Ceist:44 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Labour if he has any plans for the privatisation of any agency or company under his control in 1990; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 44 together.
There is only one commercial State enterprise under my control viz. Great Southern Hotels.
As I stated in reply to an earlier parliamentary question of 6 December, the board of GSH is of the view — which I share — that if the group is to further improve its performance and make the greatest possible contribution to the development of tourism it must obtain additional capital beyond what it could expect to generate from its own resources.
Of the non-commercial State bodies under my control, the budgets of FÁS and CERT are by far the largest. Both these organisations charge fees for the provision of some of their services, including services provided domestically and overseas. The amount of income generated in this way is relatively small compared to the total national budgets of the two organisations. The possibility of expanding this revenue-generating capacity is of course under review, within these organisations. The possibility of other agencies under my control raising income through the provision of services has not been ruled out.