Mr. Evan Cullen:

I thank the Senator for the question. Ireland has to date been an outlier not just in Europe but in the western world in its approach to aviation. There is a lack of joined-up thinking. I could list the number of airlines that have received direct state support. For example, Lufthansa has received in the region of €10 billion; KLM, €3.5 billion; Air France, €7 billion. TAP in Portugal has been nationalised. Alitalia has been nationalised. British Airways received credit support from the British Government of more than £300 million. Ryanair and EasyJet have received more than £600 million in credit assistance facility from the British Government. In the US, all the carriers Aer Lingus competes with directly have received in the region of $25 billion in supports. The only airline of note in the western world that has not received any direct support is Aer Lingus. It is the only airline that is subsidising cargo activity to the US to keep our FDI investment intact. It has not received any supports, other than through the EWSS and the TWSS, from the Government.

In other jurisdictions, testing has been introduced at airports. The Canary Islands are the latest to bring in rapid antigen testing. If one goes to the Canaries, one will have to take a test and it will cost far less than the PCR test. Ireland is again the outlier. Ireland and the Government's failure to put in place a properly integrated policy to deal with this problem is the reason the two main airlines have left Cork and Shannon. It is the reason Aer Lingus are going to move aircraft out of this jurisdiction and into the UK. It is the reason Ryanair continues to threaten further movement of aircraft out of the jurisdiction. It is because of Government policy that these things are happening. I hope that answers the question.