Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

While one would expect Fianna Fáil to say something about Aer Lingus and the importance of our national airline in the context of tourism, the headline on its website tonight refers to Deputy Martin Brady's welcome of the freezing of the price of a pint of Beamish stout. That sums up the priorities of the party.

Ultimately, nothing will prevent Aer Lingus from being forced along the Ryanair route whereby trade unions are banned and standards lowered. We can be sure potential buyers will challenge in Irish and European courts anything they consider to be a restriction or undue regulation. Potential buyers will demand changes before they put their money into the company. They will demand the removal of any conditions laid down by the Government. Pressure will mount and they will get their way because the Government recognises already that this is its intent. Certainly, we recognise it. All this has been dismissed by the Government as scaremongering, but it was noteworthy in the speech of the Minister for Finance last night that he made no reply to the points we and other Deputies made about the privatisation of Telecom Éireann. That was presented by the Government as a retention by the people of a strategic national asset through the public share offer. We warned at the time that privatisation would be against the public interest, but we were dismissed as scaremongers. The Minister should hold his head in shame. Even the most vehement opponents of privatisation at that time hardly predicted the debacle that took place. The only thing the Minister is interested in is putting more money in the pockets of Tony O'Reilly and the rest of——

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