Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Embleton and Mr. Moriarty and thank them for their presentation. Since I come from the Clare area, I wish to discuss the crew base in Shannon. There is a great deal of concern, not just among the staff at the crew base, but in the wider region. The concern is well understood from the staff's perspective because their entire livelihoods have effectively evaporated before their eyes. I do not believe there is anyone in the aviation sector who did not expect a significant shock, be that a change in working conditions or a reduction in pay, as Aer Lingus and other airlines built out of this.

The people I know who worked for Aer Lingus in Shannon cannot figure out how, without consultation with unions or discussions with staff, Aer Lingus might have managed to make savings to make it possible to retain activity in the region. Ms Embleton has indicated that her primary focus is to protect connectivity. That is my focus too but my focus is also to have secure jobs in the region. That means working for the airline. The workers who I know best were well prepared to engage with Aer Lingus to reach that level of compromise that would have allowed for the retention of connectivity and the maintenance of a base. What efforts did Aer Lingus make to engage with the workforce to try to retain the base there rather than closing it overnight by stealth?