Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

To position the company for growth, it is essential that substantial funding is available, not just in the short term but in the medium to long term. As the Deputy knows, the purchase or lease of aircraft, which has the same effect on a balance sheet, can take a number of years in lead-in time in terms of purchasing aircraft, planning new routes and getting new destinations. In fairness to Aer Lingus, it has been very successful in adding a number of new short-haul routes in recent years. All the international evidence——

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