Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for attending today's meeting and engaging with the committee, in particular, Ms Ashley Connolly, Fórsa national secretary; from the Shannon base, Ms Mary Mulholland and Mr. Gerry Clarke; from the Cork base, Ms Sarah O'Leary of the cabin crew, and Ms Liz Barry and Ms Catriona Jones from the Dublin base.

Aer Lingus will be in before us next Wednesday. We will be putting those points to Aer Lingus and will take them up with Government. We are very supportive. We want to retain the base and the vital staff in Shannon, and equally, in Cork, and we are conscious of Dublin. This is a matter we will continue to come back to. What we want to ensure here is that when the international aviation takes off - we would like to see it happening sooner rather than later in Ireland with the digital green certificate - we have all these experienced staff in play to ensure they can continue that vital role they play in bringing business people and tourists in and out of Ireland. I thank all the witnesses very much for today. Apologies for being quick on time but it was important we had them here today.

The next meeting of the joint committee will be a private meeting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 1 June 2021.