Vol. 519 No. 2
58 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the conclusions of the independent review of CIE's surplus property portfolio with regard to revenue generation; the lands to be dis posed of; and if she will make a statement on the matter [13385/00].
67 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if all the relevant reports reviewing the property portfolio of CIE have been completed; and the recommendations or decisions, if any, being proposed arising in this regard [13340/00].
I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 67 together.
The consultants have completed their work and submitted their final report to my Department. As I will bring it to Cabinet shortly I am not in a position to discuss it. The study was undertaken to provide an independent review of the financial contribution which CIE's surplus property portfolio could make to public transport investment requirements. The findings have been used as the basis for an assessment of CIE's contribution to the investment programme set out in the national development plan. The report does not deal with the issue of privatisation nor have I plans to privatise any part of the CIE group to capitalise on its property value.
The Minister has neglected this issue and nearly misled the House by stating repeatedly that she was about to bring the report to Cabinet—
A question, please.
—when she had no intention of doing so. Is she aware that she gave exactly the same reply in May 1999, June 1999, 3 November 1999, 15 February 2000 and 29 March 2000? She has now informed us that the findings of the report commissioned with taxpayer's money have been used by others. Yet, she will not give the details to the House. Is this fair? This is information I could obtain as a citizen under the Freedom of Information Act.
That is impossible prior to its consideration by Cabinet.
Why did the Minister not bring the report to Cabinet within the past year?
I will bring it to Cabinet.
There have been 52 Cabinet meetings since.
Not quite.
Forty.
The report will be brought to Cabinet.
When?
At the appropriate time.
A year ago the Minister said that she was about to bring the report to Cabinet.
The Deputy should allow the Minister to respond. He will have an opportunity to ask another supplementary question.
I have not exactly been sitting on a satin cushion since. The report will be brought to Cabinet and the matter will be—
The Minister is having a bad day.
I am having a good day actually. The Deputy should watch out this evening.
These reports are being discussed in the context of a morning pronouncement by the Minister from the bathroom that she had a pot of gold in CIE's portfolio of property which could be sold. Will she confirm that there is no crock of gold and that if the national convention centre and the Spencer Dock proposals do not get the go-ahead the likely capital from the sale of portfolio property will be very limited?
It will not be limited. In your reference to the bathroom Deputy you are being very juvenile. You are like a—
The Minister raised the issue. She mentioned that there was a crock of gold to be gained in selling CIE property. She has been found out.
The Minister should address her remarks through the Chair so as not to provoke Deputies.
Deputy Yates is very juvenile. He keeps going back to the bathroom.
It is not appropriate to refer to Deputies in those terms.
It was another early morning flimsy which has gone into the ether.
The Deputy is wrong. I spoke about the matter on Sean O'Rourke's lunch-time programme. The property portfolio, Spencer Dock in particular, will have to be fully and properly discussed at Cabinet.
Does the Minister agree that it is totally unacceptable that, despite repeated requests at Question Time, she has refused to make the information contained in the report which she has had in her possession for 12 months available to the House which provided the money for the consultants?
The Minister should publish the report.
Will the Minister agree to give Members of the House a copy of the report given that she has no intention of bringing it to Government? What is the value of the saleable properties identified? Can the Minister give us a ballpark figure or is it a State secret?
I will bring the report to Cabinet. The Opposition knows well that every single—
When? The Minister said that a year ago and she has not done anything about it.
Allow the Minister to continue without interruption.
Deputy Yates said bitterly one day that I gave him too many documents.
I do not recall that.
Once each report I get has been presented to Cabinet I give it to each Member of the House.
What about this document?
I have a duty to bring this document to Cabinet first and I intend to do that.
It is unacceptable that the Minister should treat the House with the contempt with which she is treating it. Can she confirm and give us some idea of when she might bring this document to Cabinet? If I was to apply to her Department under the Freedom of Information Act, would I get a copy of this document, given that she will not pass it to Members of the House and is treating the House with contempt having had the report, paid for by taxpayers' money, for a year?
I do not deal with queries to my Department under the Freedom of Information Act.
Who does?
An officer in the Department deals with such queries. I do not deal with them because the law states that the Minister of the day should not have any dealings with queries under the Freedom of Information Act. My job is to bring this document to Cabinet prior to making it public.
The Minister has been slow in doing that.
I wish to ask the Minister a simple question, which Deputy Stagg and I raised. Will she give a ballpark figure of the likely yield in terms of revenue or capital from this review?
In light of the fact that Spencer Dock is very much under discussion, and I put it no stronger than that, that most certainly would have a bearing on the value of the property.
