Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

There is a crisis in the airline, certainly among the staff. We see the staff attempting to buy shares in the company and so on. The flotation has not created stability and certainly has not guaranteed jobs. Indeed the situation now is that Aer Lingus is talking about shedding more jobs. Is the Minister of State aware that last week's British-Irish study on an all-Ireland economy recommended an all-Ireland strategy on the development of the airports and aviation? Does he realise that as much as such a strategy is needed, so is a national plan for the development of Aer Lingus? As the Government is a major shareholder in the company, when will he discuss that strategy with the House? As a shareholder, will the Government continue to have an interest in the running of the company and staff relations? How will that right be exercised?

The Minister of State has spoken of the Heathrow slots etc. Has he a view on Dublin remaining as the airline's operating base? It seems that for now the airline is on course to become a Ryanair light, when it has a significant role to play in freight transport and in keeping Dublin and Ireland as a major hub of international air travel. When will we have the joined-up national aviation strategy with Aer Lingus at its centre? Are we just witnessing the beginning of asset-stripping and more shedding of jobs within Aer Lingus? That is a concern of the staff as we have seen venture capitalists moving in. Some people are certainly making money out of it, but the insecurity is still there for staff. There is also insecurity pertaining to our strategic interests as an island nation.

Instead of improving the lot of Aer Lingus as a company, we have undermined it. The Minister of State may indicate that everything is rosy for the future, but there are not very many people among the staff or on this side of the House who have a similar view.

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