Semi-state commercial firms pay out €1bn in dividends over past 10 years

New figures show that semi-state commercial firms have paid the State over €1 billion in dividends over the past 10 years.

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin, has confirmed that between 2003 and 2012, state-owned firms paid the Government a total of €1.061bn in dividends.

The figures show that the dividend pay-out by the semi-states has increased dramatically since the economy went into recession.

Prior to 2008, total annual dividends received by Government did not go over €83.9m in any year and totalled only €36.7m in 2003.

The statistics show that the dividend pay out from than doubled in the space of one year going from €83.9m in 2007 to €170.9m in 2008.

However, dividends received by Government peaked in 2008 and they have been gradually reducing since then dropping by 19% to €111.6m last year from €137.5m in 2011.

Mr Howlin provided the figures in response to a written Dáil question tabled by Fianna Fáil’s Sean Fleming.

Mr Fleming said yesterday: “€1 billion may sound like a lot of money, but it is a drop in the ocean in terms of the Government’s spend during the 10 years and I believe that these companies should be making a much larger contribution.”

Figures show that the dividends from the semi-state energy firms have accounted for the largest proportion of the dividend pay-outs.

Mr Howlin confirmed that the ESB has paid dividends totalling €720.7m over the period with Bord Gáis paying out €200m — 92% of the overall total.

The next highest contributor is the Dublin Port Company that paid €46.8m in dividends – paying €26.7m of that total in 2012 and 2011.

The Cork Port Authority paid dividends of just under a combined €1m in 2012 and 2011.