Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for their presentation. Everyone seems to be agreed there are enormous implications for the sale if it takes place. We have heard differing views. I would certainly be worried about the issue, which has not been mentioned, of job losses. IAG, if it was to take over here, would start trimming the workforce and start to bring it up to what it wants.

I note IAG stated it would give a five-year guarantee on the slots. That is not worth the paper it is written on. What would happen after five years? We have seen a steady growth in difficult economic times of sectors such as tourism and manufacturing.

We are talking about putting that in jeopardy for the sake of €300 million, which one can compare to the value of the tourism industry. The people from IBEC know how many jobs and the level of exports that are involved. I do not see the logic in a sale.

The Irish people should have a say in this by means of a referendum. This asset belongs to the State and not to any political party that comes into power or has the numbers in Parliament to deal with it. When it comes to assets belonging to the State, the people should have a say. There are vested interests who support that sale of the remaining shares owned by the State - for example, executive managers, among others, stand to make €30 million. If I had shares in a company, I would forever try to sell them if I thought the market was right. We have one of the most modern fleets around. It is not that big is good, which seems to be the general impression I am getting. We have an airport and a service that is fit for purpose. It is modern, up to date and doing extremely well. Why would we take a risk in selling slots in Heathrow that mean a lot?

IBEC never surprises me; it always seems to favour whatever deal is on. Ms Burke indicated that she does not believe IAG would strip assets from the company. I do not know what that is based on. She also argued that the money from the sale could be invested elsewhere. We are talking about €300 million, and when we weigh that up against the risks, including the overall consequences, I cannot see the logic in making a statement like that. When we see eminent people such as Michael Smurfit outlining their serious concerns, we should consider why we would sell something that is working and delivering in the middle of a massive recession.