Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Having listened to Mr. Walsh today and listened to his commentary over the last number of weeks, there is a good deal of merit in what he is proposing for Aer Lingus. Significant opportunities would arise for Aer Lingus, particularly in it piggy-backing in on many of the marketing links that IAG has established across Europe and the US. However, clearly there are many concerns and they have been expressed here today. They all surround the issue of the nature of Mr. Walsh's guarantee and the guarantees that it would give to Shannon and Cork in particular. He has been helpful. In his response to Deputy O'Donovan, he used language to the effect that he is prepared to consider extending the guarantees. My understanding all along was that what one had one held and in terms of connectivity, for example, from Shannon into Heathrow and the transatlantic routes out of Shannon, that at a very minimum, his guarantee could cover those. He did not really answer Deputy Dooley when he questioned him on those, but in terms of his response to Deputy O'Donovan, he suggested that he would be prepared to consider that. In order to bring people on board, he might need to go a bit stronger on that again and offer a firm commitment that this would form part of his guarantee. I think if he did that, he would bring people on board.

In terms of the five-year guarantee, Mr. Walsh did not become one of the pre-eminent airline executives in the world without having some strong negotiating skills. His opening gambit is a five-year guarantee. Would he be prepared to consider something further? He said he had exhaustive conversations with his board about this, but would he be prepared to consider extending that and come back to us on it?

In terms of the future of Aer Lingus, in the absence of this deal, what future does he see for Aer Lingus? We have had considerable turmoil in the airline industry over the past decade. If we are to see a repeat of the downturn in the airline industry, what future would Mr. Walsh see for Aer Lingus?

I have a final point, and I thank the Chairman for his indulgence. In terms of the Dublin slots, we have, as Deputy McEntee said, 19 at present. Mr. Walsh could give a guarantee that he would maintain the Aer Lingus slots, the 11 slots that we have, but, in doing that, the group could reduce its overall number of slots. Will his guarantee provide that the Dublin-Heathrow slots will be maintained at 19? I have other questions but I have run out my allocated time.