asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline his policy with regard to encouraging worker shareholding in the public sector, including the semi-State agencies or bodies.

I presume the question relates to companies in State ownership who have share capital and whose structure would therefore facilitate the form of worker participation which the Deputy mentions. At present, by far the greater part of the shares in all such public sector bodies are held either by myself or, a relevant Minister or by a ministerial nominee. The transfer of such shareholdings to private ownership — whether to employees or others — is not proposed at present and the question posed by the Deputy does not therefore immediately arise. Should the situation in this regard change at any time in the future, the issue raised by the Deputy is obviously one which will be addressed. Likewise in the case of statutory corporations without share capital: it would only be in the event of a restructuring which involved the introduction of share capital that the question of shareholding would arise.

To take the most obvious example, Irish Life, in which the Minister owns most of the shares if not all of them, if the proposal comes up to restructure that firm's capital and redistribute the shareholding among the public at large or among financial institutions or other investors, has the Minister any intention to reserve some of the shares to be reallocated for distribution among the workers of that concern?

In the event of any such issue arising the question posed by the Deputy will be addressed.

Has the Minister any intention——

Not at the moment.