Mr. Neil McGowan:

I will address the seniority issue regarding the temporary lay-offs in Shannon Airport. I believe the Deputy is referring to an agreement in place between Fórsa, as the union for cabin crew, and Aer Lingus. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on that. Regarding the SIPTU members laid off in the areas in which we engage in collective bargaining in Aer Lingus, the long-standing arrangement is that it is done on a section by section basis and that seniority is then the determining factor. The reality, however, is that Aer Lingus has not had operations out of Shannon since March. That needs to change quickly. I welcome the Deputy's support for our position on Shannon Airport returning to the remit of the DAA. If there is to be work for people in Shannon, there must be flights and connectivity to valuable routes. Despite all the predictions that the separation of Shannon Airport from the DAA would be an unqualified success, none of those predictions has come to fruition since the separation. I ask members to compare the experience of Shannon Airport with that of Cork Airport, which remained part of the DAA.