Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the group members and thank them for their presentations. From the bulk of what we have heard today it is clear that the State's part ownership of Aer Lingus has been vitally important in developing not just our tourism sector but also, as importantly, our key business sectors throughout the country. Aer Lingus's access through Heathrow in particular, as identified by Mr. Donoghue, is a critical component of our foreign direct investment offering, and obviously needs to be maintained. There is almost unanimity about the necessity to retain that connectivity. Where the spread of presentations seemed to tail off was in how it is hoped to achieve that in a sale.

To some extent, all the witnesses have referred to ways of allaying fears, which is what Ms Burke identified. She spoke of putting certain guarantees in place. Anybody I have spoken to in the corporate sector, however, cannot understand why we are discussing the notion of some kind of guarantee from the purchaser of the State's shareholding. How one might put in place or structure a guarantee that would ultimately ensure that the State would not lose access to these markets is almost laughable when one talks to corporate lawyers. Nobody in the real world is suggesting that one can put such guarantees in place. That is why I would welcome it if the witnesses, who have indicated they accept the notion of selling the State's share, could outline how some kind of irrevocable guarantees could be put in place. Two of the witnesses said that five years would not be enough and that it should really be in perpetuity, but nobody seems to be coming forward with any methodologies for doing that.

Interestingly, Ms Burke is the only person I have heard in recent weeks suggesting that somehow €2.50 per share might represent good value for the State. Even people who support the State's disposal of its shareholding are saying that €2.50 or €2.55 per share significantly undervalues that shareholding.

I want to ask all the representative groups - although not Enterprise Ireland or the IDA - if Aer Lingus is a member of any of their groups and, if so, what is the airline's annual contribution to those organisations?