Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

When the last Government shares in Aer Lingus were sold, there was a major fear that the Heathrow slots from Shannon would be lost. A last-minute deal was cobbled together by the Government at the time to protect that all-important landing slot for flights from Shannon into Heathrow until the end of September 2022, which was just last week. That deal has expired. Aer Lingus is still selling flights to Heathrow and filling them, and we are delighted that it is, but the agreement struck by both sides has lapsed and I do not think the Government has any basis to impose another such commitment on Aer Lingus. How much will Aer Lingus honour that going forward in terms of that all-important connection to Heathrow?