Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am amazed that a plan like this, which had such implications for the airport and its staff, got through. Was Government informed of this? At that stage, the DAA was like any other company, as the witnesses have said. I presume it was drawing down a wage subsidy for some of its workers. How much money did the company generate through wage subsidy schemes? I have a business but I did not engage with the wage subsidy scheme. I knew for certain that if I did not keep my staff during the Covid pandemic, I would have no business when it was over. I cannot understand how all of the intelligent people in the DAA did not understand that with all of the advice they had and the communications they had with the Department of Transport. That Department is a huge unit within our public service. We have two Ministers, who have busloads of advisers. I cannot understand how nobody picked up on the implications of the decision the DAA made to dismiss so many people so quickly. I find it difficult to understand how the DAA did not anticipate that this was going to be a problem.