Irish govt report outlines sale of state assets

DUBLIN: The Irish government should sell its stake in Aer Lingus and parts of energy utilities Electricity Supply Board and Bord Gais, a government-commissioned group said in a review outlining 5 billion euros worth of state asset sales on Wednesday.

"We are recommending that there should be a planned programme of asset sales to reduce the state's very high level of indebtedness. We are not recommending an accelerated sale process," the 179-page report said.

Ireland's Prime Minister Enda Kenny said this week that the government was sticking to its target of raising 2 billion euros from the sale of non-strategic state assets despite the report outlining more than double that amount.