Eircom a ‘warning sign’ to Coalition

The Government has rejected suggestions that it risks another Eircom-style debacle by selling some of the State’s assets.

Eircom is drowning in €3.6bn of debt and will know today if it has secured High Court protection to allow it restructure and trade out of its difficulties.

Sinn Féin warned that the experience of Eircom, which was sold by the Fianna Fáil-led government in 1999, represented a “stark warning” to the current administration about the dangers of privatisation.