Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

He is the Minister with responsibility for transport. This is one of the problems with the rules of the House.

What are the implications for connectivity if Aer Lingus follows Ryanair in a race to the bottom and becomes a pale copy of its competitor? As Christoph Mueller stated in today's edition of the Financial Times, the company will have to link up and become part of a broader company. Is it not a bad outcome that we seem destined to lose many jobs in Shannon, Cork and Dublin? Will this not have a negative effect on connectivity?

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