Minister for Communications and Energy Pat Rabbitte has said he envisages the sale of part of the ESB to take place next year
Speaking during Sinn Féin's Private Members time calling for a reversal of the Government decision to part-privatise the ESB, Minister Rabbitte said an expert group would report in November about the best approach to the proposed sale.
He said he would envisage the "specific transaction being progressed throughout 2012".
Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty said the Government plan will be a disaster in the long run.
Introducing the Bill, Deputy Doherty said the move represented the "thin edge of the privatisation wedge".
He said it demonstrated the dominance of Fine Gael policy in Government and was the latest example of the growing gap between what the Labour Party promised in the election and what it is delivering in Government.
His party colleage, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, said the sale was another step in the downgrading of the economy.
He described it as economic madness to sell off State assets.
Another Sinn Féin deputy, Seán Crowe, called on the Labour Party to think of their core constituency before proceeding with a policy of selling state assets, which he described as "a recipe for disaster" and a "grubby plan".
He predicted that disconnections would become a frequent occurrence for people who fall behind in their bill payments.
Fianna Fáil Éamon Ó Cuív said the proposal to sell a minority stake in the ESB would lead to conflict and chaos in the boardroom.
Mr Ó Cuív said his party had decided they would not sell the strategic parts of the ESB, which were the transmission lines and the lines bringing power into homes around the country.
If a minority stake were sold, there would be directors on the board whose primary interest would be the return they could get for the shareholders, he said.
Deputy Ó Cuív felt it would also mean the end of the policy of giving access to everyone at a fair price