Mr. Tim Fenn:

There is conjecture about whether this will be good or bad and whether it means that Aer Lingus will expand and be successful in the future. It may or may not be, but the issue here is the potential conflict of interest between the interests of the island of Ireland and the interests of IAG as a corporation. At this point, IAG wishes to purchase 100% of Aer Lingus, and the Irish Government has something IAG is seeking. In any negotiation of whatever price will be agreed by the Stock Exchange or whatever incentive IAG might seek to present in terms of commitments and so forth to the Irish Government, as time passes they will disappear into history. Somehow or other we believe it should be possible for the various advisers involved to investigate the feasibility of a contractual option that the Irish Government will purchase now and which could be exercised in the event that at any time in the future those slots are withdrawn from the Irish market. They are tradeable assets as long as they are 80% used. While we have a minority shareholding in the company, we cannot dictate how they are being used, but the day before we sell is the day we have an opportunity to gain some ground in regard to what the future usage of the slots will be. We strongly suggest that when discussing contractual rights over those slots, there must be some means by which the lawyers can devise a way whereby Ireland can purchase those slots now or have an option to purchase at market value at some point in the future, but in such a way that the strategic interests of the island of Ireland are protected in the transaction.