Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

Many people stood up on this issue including company directors and leaders of tourism. These are people who do not normally stick their heads above the parapet on these issues. They did so because they are genuinely concerned about job losses, their companies and the prosperity of the region. I will quote what one of them had to say: "This is not an inconvenience but a critical business and prosperity issue for the west and mid-west". It is not as the Minister says some form of exaggeration. This is a crucial issue for the strength of our region. It is an issue on which the Deputies opposite could have made a difference had they been willing to stand with us and to tell the Government they believed in what they said. Some of those Deputies are here today. Perhaps we will hear from some of them later what it is they propose to do.

A fundamental issue of political credibility arises when Deputies express support for an issue in their own region and do not support it in this Chamber. These people are denying their responsibility as public representatives for their regions. It is vital to people in the west and mid-west that this decision is reversed. I urge the Government to use its 25.4% shareholding at the proposed AGM or to convene an EGM, as the former Minister indicated it would, to ensure this decision is reversed. If it does not do so, Members will not be able to hold their heads high and say they care about the west and mid-west.

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