Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 13 July 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

Business of Joint Committee

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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We are looking for a meeting next Wednesday. We have a slot. There is no reason Aer Lingus could not come before us. We want Lynne Embleton, the CEO, to come before us. It is reported that Aer Lingus representatives are meeting with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. If they are meeting with him, they should be meeting with the line committee. We have credibility in our interactions with the aviation industry to date. We have always interacted in a constructive way. As Deputy O'Rourke said, Aer Lingus should be using this as an opportunity to explain to the public precisely what the position is. If there are genuine reasons for what is happening, that is fine, but it cannot run away from the issue. We will be issuing a statement to that effect and we will be following up with Aer Lingus. I will follow up with it personally. We expect its representatives to come before us next week to do a body of work around aviation. The number of flights Aer Lingus has cancelled and the burden that has put on consumers, many of whom we represent, is not tolerable. We look forward to Ms Embleton and her corporate team coming before us next week.