Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

The Deputy is quite disparaging of the qualities available to the NTMA. Based on the amount of money we are paying those working in the NTMA, I sincerely hope they are not run of the mill civil servants. They are individuals who are highly qualified for treasury management, to run our national debt process and to involve themselves in a range of the strategic funding issues that affect the State and they are well placed to look at these matters and get expert advice on them. I am confident of that.

The Deputy also asked how we determined what was strategic. The NTMA did not do that, the Government did and that is laid out in the plans we have made. The Deputy asked who decided Aer Lingus was not a strategic asset. The problem is the Deputy's party sold off 75% of Aer Lingus. The remaining 25% is not a strategic holding. We do not have any leverage on the slots in Heathrow or anything else. Fianna Fáil sold that, unfortunately.

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