John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will hand over to Deputy Ellis in a moment, but I first want to pose a couple of supplementary questions based on the discussion as it has evolved. Mr. Thompson referred to Virgin Atlantic's reluctance to come into Ireland and stated the reasons for that from lessons learned in the UK. My impression is that there is already competition among a number of airlines coming into or flying from Ireland. It is about 40% Ryanair and 40% Aer Lingus. If the IAG takeover goes ahead, therefore, the new arrangement would not have a monopoly on flights out of Ireland. I find it difficult to understand why Mr. Thompson is reluctant to get involved in the competition. IAG would not have the dominance of the Irish market then and Ryanair would be equal to it anyway.