Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

If Aer Lingus ends up only investing that much, it will have failed in its opportunities. That goes nowhere near what the potential opportunities for the company are.

I will correct one item which may be misunderstood. There are 21 airport destinations in North America interested in having Aer Lingus flying in to them. I have not said that Aer Lingus wants to fly to all 21 destinations. There are subtle differences involved which I will not go into because clearly there are commercially valuable routes which I will not flag to other airlines which are equally interested in them.

The following is very important. Before we give opportunities to other companies which are competitors to Aer Lingus, I want Aer Lingus to have those opportunities first. That is what we should all be striving to achieve. This is not about playing with figures. It is about positioning one of the most important companies in this country for significant growth in jobs and in the Irish economy.

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