Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

On the Government policy to have at least two airlines, is it not implicit that there will not be two separate airlines if Ryanair owns both? In terms of the hostile bid — the point the Minister referred to on 1 December — a hostile bid means that something would not be in the best interests of the company or of the Government's shareholding, which is what I presume the Minister is talking about. It seems that implicit in what the Minister is saying is that he will reject this, even though, perhaps, he cannot say that.

What Ryanair is guaranteeing is the connectivity from Heathrow to Ireland. If Aer Lingus is taken over by any other company, that guarantee will not necessarily be there. Will the Minister please comment?

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