Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Does the Deputy want me to answer the question? I have made it clear that the minimum the State will hold onto is 25.1%. It could be somewhat more than that; we will have to await the outcome. As far as the Government is concerned at this stage, the State is quite clear in that we will retain that share in Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus is now on a path for growth. We are not going for a trade sale, which would embody many of the concerns the Deputy has enunciated where another company in the business might come in, take a large shareholding in Aer Lingus and then strip the assets or sweat them, as the Deputy described it, for its own competitive advantage. Investors will invest in Aer Lingus because commercially it will be a good investment. I do not see them undermining that investment by selling the brand or undermining the Heathrow slots. To my knowledge, even though Aer Lingus is in State holding, I do not believe Aer Lingus travels to London on the basis of anything other than a commercial reality. In other words, there is a demand for the slots. I do not take the same view that Irish people will not want to go there anymore. That is something new to the debate as far as I am concerned.

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