Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Thompson for his presentation, which has made very clear the issues relating to the Irish consumer in the event of the IAG-Aer Lingus deal going ahead.

That is what I want to stick to because my only interest is ensuring that the air-travelling public in this country have access to the best competition for long-haul flights if this deal goes ahead. Clearly, I am on record as stating that it is not in the best interests of Irish consumers for the deal to go ahead. Obviously, we are keen to take into consideration the potential for inbound tourism as well. Given the Virgin Atlantic connections with Delta Air Lines and its recognised brand throughout the world, it provides access to Ireland via the Aer Lingus network at the moment. This provides a significant benefit from our tourism perspective.

Can Mr. Thompson flesh out a little more the nature or character of any legal agreement that would protect the Irish consumer and ensure that these interline arrangements are maintained? Does From Mr. Thompson believe this is something the European Commission could require as part of the deal going ahead? Would something like this have to be agreed in advance by the selling party, that is, the Government? Would it be required by the Commission or would it require the clearance of the Commission for the overall deal to go ahead? The only area I wish to concentrate on is how to put in place an appropriate structure to ensure that a combined entity would have to maintain a relationship with other carriers, such as Virgin.