Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

No, the Labour Party will not agree to take this item until arrangements are made to enable the Minister for Transport to come before the House to make a comprehensive statement and answer questions about the state of his knowledge concerning the removal of the Shannon-Heathrow service. We have learned in recent days from freedom of information requests submitted by the Irish Examiner and parliamentary questions tabled by Deputy Kieran O'Donnell that the Department was aware as of 13 June that the Shannon-Heathrow service was at risk. The Minister wants us to believe he did not receive the note prepared for him in the Department; was not informed or briefed on the matter when he took office or at any time subsequently; that on the occasions he discussed Aer Lingus with his officials between 13 June and the end of July, as he must have done, the issue was not raised; that when news of the removal of the Shannon-Heathrow service broke at the end of July, he was not informed that his Department had this information in its possession; that he and his ministerial colleagues were repeatedly allowed out to tell the public they knew nothing of the withdrawal of the service; that news of the decision came as a bolt from the blue for them; and that no one in the Department told him anything about the issue. Having kept him in the dark about all of this, he now thinks so highly of the Department that he proposes to have it investigate itself on all these matters.

The Minister must make a statement on this matter in the House today and Deputies must have an opportunity to question him on it. The bottom line is that the Department was aware of Aer Lingus's plans on 13 June and the Government had a six-week period within which it could have intervened to prevent the removal of the Heathrow service from Shannon Airport. In these circumstances, the Labour Party will oppose the proposal, unless the Tánaiste outlines beforehand what arrangements will be made for the Minister to come into the House to respond to these matters.

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