Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

——predicated on its base in Ireland, the potential new routes from here into the United States, the Middle East, the Far East and Australia and the substantial potential increase in short-haul routes. We must keep matters in context. The company is in a strong position and managed to turn itself around in a positive way thanks to great work by its workforce and management in recent years. That is the situation today.

Deputy Eamon Ryan seems to be ignoring EU competition rules in respect of our desire to ensure that Aer Lingus would not be made to face fierce competition with one hand tied behind its back. It would probably not have been able to survive. It needed the ability to compete on a level playing field and access to the capital markets. It can be said that once a company is put on the Stock Exchange, people can purchase its shares, but there are Irish and EU competition rules to ensure there is no distortion of the marketplace by the creation of a monopoly.

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