Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the presentations and also congratulate Mr. Kavanagh. I will be as quick as possible, because there are quite a few questions. To clarify the issue that was raised regarding 200 versus 500 jobs, my understanding was that when Mr. Walsh was asked what he intended to bring to Aer Lingus, he said the contribution would be in terms of sales and supporting the efforts of Aer Lingus Regional to support its strategy, which was to deploy or to put on the fleet one wide-bodied aircraft per year for the next five years. That is at variance with what Mr. Barrington has said, but maybe he can clarify that.

I listened with interest to what Mr. Barrington had to say. He twice reminded us that this was the right strategic decision from a commercial point of view for Aer Lingus, for its employees, for its customers and for Ireland. The only thing he has left out from that is the shareholders. I would have thought that, as chairperson of the company, his primary objective was to work in the interest of the shareholders. I am not sure where he stands on that. He might help us to understand. There has been some media comment about the directors of the company and how they, together with some senior management, will share in a €30 million pot, some kind of bonus disbursal, as a result of the sale. Maybe he could talk to us about that. I would have liked to see before us today some of the independent directors on his board and be able to interact with them. I would also have liked to see the directors appointed by the State, who, while they have a fiduciary duty to the company, also have a mandate from the Government to look at the broader regional aspects to the company's overall strategic direction. Maybe Mr. Barrington can comment to some extent on that.

If this deal goes through, will there be an independent Aer Lingus board? Mr. Kavanagh talked about management, head office, etc. Will there be a board? What has been going on in Aer Lingus? Has there been long-term strategic planning or have the directors been working towards this day? Has Aer Lingus been courting IAG or somebody in IAG's league? Has it always been, in recent years, just about getting to a point at which the directors dispose of the airline, get their exit strategy and get to share that €30 million pot? I see a level of confusion between what the witnesses are telling me and what Willie Walsh tells me is their long-term strategy. If Mr. Brogan's interaction with them has been so successful, why have we not heard of Aer Lingus developing its own growth strategy as a relatively small independent operator? My understanding was that there was an alliance with another airline about being able to buy aircraft relatively competitively. If there was a long-term strategy, could it not have been achieved through a strategic link-up with IAG, rather than a capitulation or a sell-out? Could Aer Lingus not have attempted to paddle its own canoe, to develop a strategic alliance whereby all the benefits that have been mentioned would still be there and would flow to the benefit of the company, the employees, the shareholders, and more importantly, this island nation?