Mr. Willie Walsh:

I assure Deputy Tom Fleming that, without question, I will move on at some time. This is not Willie Walsh making a bid to acquire Aer Lingus; this is IAG making a bid to acquire Aer Lingus. IAG is a significant company with clear governance rules. The board of IAG has unanimously supported the bid to acquire Aer Lingus. It was not a decision taken by me; it was a decision taken by the board. The analysis was carried out by a team that reports to me. This was not driven by me. This is not me on a solo run trying to acquire Aer Lingus. This is IAG, the business, with the full, unanimous support of our board, seeking to acquire Aer Lingus. The commitments that are given are not commitments from Willie Walsh; they are commitments from IAG, the entity.

Deputy Walsh referred to the five-year commitment. He is correct in that I may have said "consider," so allow me, then, to harden that and say "Yes, I would give a commitment in the same way." I have considered it and I will do that. It is not my opening gambit. Let me be honest; I am not prepared to go beyond five years. People who have negotiated with me have sometimes come to realise that when I make an opening offer my second offer is actually worse than the first one. Do not believe that because I make a proposal I am ready to improve it. If my proposal is rejected I may remove the proposal or I may reduce it, but I can tell you for definite that I am not prepared to increase it.

I was asked about the future of Aer Lingus. I spent 25 years at Aer Lingus and I had a fantastic time. I loved every minute of it. I wish Aer Lingus well. When IAG approached the board of Aer Lingus we were very clear that we wanted to do this in a friendly way. We made clear to the board that if it did not welcome our approach, that would be the end of it. We had negotiations on price with the board of Aer Lingus, and the price we finally suggested was one that the board felt represented value. It was a significant premium on the price that Aer Lingus shares were trading at before IAG made its approach.

What will the future be? I think Aer Lingus has done a good job. It has opportunities to grow, and these opportunities will be secured if it becomes part of IAG. There is significantly less risk to anything that Aer Lingus would want to do as a result of its being part of IAG, and there is a massive upside opportunity. I wish the company well, and if we do not succeed with our bid I will continue to wish it well. I will not say anything that might undermine that other than to say that we are operating in a very competitive industry that is consolidating. Aer Lingus is a small carrier on a global scale, which punches way above its weight because of the brand. Its opportunities will be much more interesting and will be significantly better as part of IAG than they will ever be if it remains alone.

With regard to Dublin Airport, IAG would look at rationalising the schedule to ensure there is an even spread. The commitment that IAG is giving is for the Aer Lingus slots. IAG does not believe there is a competition issue, but I cannot prejudge what the competition authorities would say about it.