Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

Absolutely. The nub of the issue is that the Government failed to act. I have news for the Minister. I understand an EGM of Aer Lingus will be called. I spoke with Aer Lingus yesterday and I was told an EGM will be called but not to discuss this specific issue but purchases within the fleet or wherever. Is the Minister aware of that and, if so, will he represent us and articulate and push the views of the vast majority of people in this House and in the Shannon region, that they want Aer Lingus to look again at the proposed retention of the slots and retention of the service? Other attractions could be offered — I want to be constructive on this issue. If all else fails and if Aer Lingus, BMI or another airline will not do it, the Government could declare a public service obligation and advertise for tenders to retain the connectivity between Heathrow and Shannon. I have a list of more than 225 flights, some of which are inter-country and not just intra-country which the Minister could examine. If nobody else steps into the breach, the Minister has a duty of care to the people of the mid-west to retain the onward connectivity provided by the link between Heathrow and Shannon Airport. A good argument can be made in the case of the west of Ireland for the provision of effective connectivity to the wider world via European hubs, which is entirely in line with the key aims of a PSO service based on regional economic and social development. The Government has an alternative. The Minister has choices in filling the board, in addressing an EGM and, if all else fails, to declare a public service obligation. Many constructive acts can be carried that can, will and do support the views of the people, particularly the business community in that area.

This is a critical issue based on the fundamental truth that we cannot trust the Government on transport. We cannot believe it in the answers it gave no more than three or four months ago. They mean nothing when the Minister sits around the Cabinet table with his colleagues one of whom, the Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, is clearly asleep when it comes to his constituency. We challenge all the Government backbenchers, Ministers and Ministers of State from the region not just to vote for our amendment but also to walk through the lobbies and stand up and vote for the people of the area, the Aer Lingus workers, Shannon Airport and the whole mid-west.

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