Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

The articles of association state that if the Heathrow slot was sold or leased, for example, to British Midland, and was moved to Belfast the Minister would intervene, yet the same thing has happened with regard to the slot in Shannon. The primary purpose, as stated by the then Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, when he first proposed the sale of Aer Lingus, was to protect the national and regional interest. The Government has failed to do that.

The Secretary General of the Department of Transport said, in an article in the Irish Independent of 29 November, that the Government would be helpless if Aer Lingus moved more airport slots. Is that not an absolute admission of the failure of the Government, particularly given that Deputy Denis Naughten, the Fine Gael spokesperson on aviation, secured a commitment from the Minister to a White Paper on how the slots would be accounted for as part of the privatisation of the company?

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