Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

They were apparently exaggerating in the Minister's eyes and perhaps he thinks they were telling blatant lies as well. Aer Lingus claims the decision was taken on a commercial basis. The Minister is a major shareholder. Dermot Mannion said that the Belfast route would be profitable from the start. However, Dermot Mannion also said that the Dublin to Dubai route would be profitable and now we hear that this service is to terminate. Already we hear that pre-bookings for the Belfast routes show they have only sold 175 seats for the month of January out of Belfast, while the competitor, Ryanair, has sold 1,100 out of Belfast for the same period.

The Aer Lingus Shannon to Heathrow route is a different story. A profitable route carrying 350,000 passengers with a 75% load factor is considered remarkable. After weeks of huffing and puffing, in a belated announcement, the Minister stated that he realised that connectivity from Shannon to Heathrow was essential. This admission was like the conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus. Rumour has it that a new airline will start to operate the route as soon as possible. This is not true and in any event, a quick short-term fix is not the answer. The best way to ensure long-term connectivity to the region is for Aer Lingus to continue to serve the Shannon to Heathrow route.

The Minister promised to deliver a transition period for Shannon Airport after the introduction of open skies but failed to deliver. He promised that he had sought and received guarantees from Aer Lingus of a minimum 400,000 transatlantic passengers but failed to deliver. He promised that Shannon would share in the success of 22 new US destinations but failed to deliver. Above all else he promised a tourism and economic plan for the region but failed to deliver.

I ask Ministers and Government Deputies to join us. We have witnessed a great coming together of the entire west of Ireland over the last few weeks to fight this decision. It is now time for the west of Ireland to unite in this House. It is very simple, if they want to have the Aer Lingus decision to end the Shannon to Heathrow service reversed then they must join my colleagues and me, and vote with their feet. The Government spent enough money on consultants to ensure that the commitments given in the articles of association were not open to legal interpretation. Actions speak louder than words. Hiding behind legal advice as outlined in a reply to a parliamentary question I received this morning will not wash.

As I look across the floor I see Bertie's team. We are watching them and they will be remembered by the people of the west and mid-west for their actions here today. The choice is theirs. They should join us and save the west of Ireland.

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