Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

Will the Minister agree that if he had commenced the discussions when he came into office, we would not now be in this situation? My understanding and that of the Minister's Department as a result of legal advice is that there will be grandfather rights involved. What impact will this have on the franchising of routes? Has the Department any estimate of the financial loss to the State? The licences granted to Aircoach were worth €15 million. This is already a significant loss to the State and there could be more significant losses in the future.

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