What will £1 buy these days? Two copies of An Phoblacht/Republican News, a lottery ticket, or Irish Steel. Yes, the rainbow coalition cabinet agreed the sell-off of Irish Steel to the private sector [in early September] for the huge sum of £1.
Debts of £17 million were written off and the state is to invest another £10.5 million. The new owners, Ipsat International, have to take on other debts of £20 million and have promised no redundancies in the 331-strong work force for five years.
However, the sell-off still makes them net gainers. Without debt, Irish Steel is valued at £25 million. So Ipsat, already one of the world's largest steel companies, have been given a steel plant, one of the most modern in the European Union, one that is now making profits, for (pinch yourself now) £1.
The only impediment to this grand plan is the European Union. The EU Commission has to ratify the sale, and the British government has been upset at the state give-away. Its steel company was already rationalised and privatised in the 1980s.
AP/RN was besieged by irate punters last week, many of them gripping their £62.50 long-term unemployment assistance payment in paw, offering to buy any number of state utilities. However, our advice to them was that if you missed the Irish Steel sell-off don't despair, you could still end up owning a cut-price state resource.
In their wisdom, the cabinet also decided to approve a new 120 megawatt power plant for the east midlands. The contract for building the station is out to tender to the private sector. The ESB have to bid along with everyone else in this new form of creeping privatisation. £21 million in EU aid comes to the lucky tender winner.
The coalition has yet to establish the promised independent regulatory authority, or agree a pricing mechanism for selling power from the station. None of this seems set to deter prospective buyers. For those of us who are not privy to details of how to be considered for such lucrative £1 bids, it's still a case of "anyone for the last scratch card?"
[From An Phoblacht.]