Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the four gentlemen from the trade unions in Aer Lingus and thank them for attending at such short notice. I also thank them for their presentations, as the information they have supplied is valuable in trying to assess what the offer involves. We are suffering from a dearth of information. We are only getting it from the media, with journalists seemingly knowing more about the issue than the rest of us.

It has been mentioned that when IAG took over Iberia, there was a considerable number of job losses in administration. It is practically certain that something similar would happen if IAG were to take over Aer Lingus. As a north Dublin Deputy, many of my constituents work for Aer Lingus and the unions have a legitimate interest in raising their concerns.

My questions are on the issues of connectivity and the importance of the Heathrow Airport slots. Mr. Reidy stated any future takeover of Aer Lingus would have to be based on guarantees covering these slots. Do all of the unions agree that the slots are critical? It was pointed out that were they to be lost, we could lose a great deal of foreign direct investment and tourism business because of the lack of connectivity. It was also mentioned that the Heathrow Airport slots could be switched and used for services to the United States or China. Are they a deal breaker?