Mr. Donal Moriarty:

A number of Deputies asked me about the cabin crew base. We had to make the decision in that regard to enable us to make a decision to resume and restore the services, which are important to Aer Lingus and equally important to the mid-west.

With regard to our future at Shannon Airport, we certainly envisage our commitment to the transatlantic and London–Heathrow routes being maintained, but it comes back to the point I was making to Senator Buttimer. With regard to the deployment of additional short-haul aircraft we take into the fleet, we have to assess where those aircraft are best deployed from demand and commercial perspectives.

We engage very closely with Shannon Airport and its leadership team. It is very proactive in seeking to provide supports from airport charges and marketing support perspectives. We work very well with the team. We will continue to assess this but I believe we have demonstrated our commitment to Shannon Airport by the restoration of the routes. We will look for opportunities, as we always do, but we are constrained by the issues I mentioned.