Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I heard yesterday evening that the chief executive, chief operations officer and chief financial officer of Aer Lingus were about to tender their resignations and so the Minister met them this morning. I wish to express my gratitude for the work they have done over the past three years, as I have done two or three weeks in a row. Their work has proved we have a profitable successful airline today, despite the difficulties we know exist in the aviation industry and that could exist for Aer Lingus in future years. All airlines are suffering.

The Minister for Transport will meet the acting chairman, Mr. John Sharman, on Thursday to clarify how quickly the board can move in appointing replacements. Today's developments will not deflect the Government from any of the measures that need to be implemented in Aer Lingus at operational or strategic level. On the operational level, it will be a matter for the board and management to work through the implementation of the business plan by direct engagement with the staff representatives and, where appropriate, with the assistance of the staff industrial relations machinery. I have been clear on this in recent weeks. The Government's obligation is to deal with the several thousand people who work in the Aer Lingus complex. We must protect our interests. I have not supported some of the initiatives brought forward. I assume what I said about the MBO and some of the other issues did not find favour with everybody but I hope that was not a factor in all of this. My view on the MBO has not changed. It should be clear to all that in the airline business, in particular, companies must be continually prepared to adapt to the rapid changes that are now a standard feature of the commercial aviation environment.

Turning to the strategic matters that are the concern of the Government as shareholder and policy maker, the Minister and I have already had a number of discussions in recent weeks to bring clarity to the Government's medium and long-term intentions on the future ownership of Aer Lingus. We know we have to make changes. Management knows that, as do the board, staff and the travelling public. People have seen what is happening with Sabena, Alitalia and many other airlines around the world.

As far as I am concerned, today's events will not deflect the Government from giving its early attention to the ownership issue and to the strategic concerns that arise from that issue. The Minister for Transport and I are aware that, increasingly, the commercial opportunities for Aer Lingus in terms of services between Ireland and the US is an important element of the overall strategic future of the airline. We have been working on a review of the bilateral aviation agreement between Ireland and the US to address this issue. We must seek to secure the best outcome for Aer Lingus, the tourism sector and the Shannon region.

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