Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

Táimid glan i gcoinne sócmhainní Stáit a dhíol, is cuma cé mhéid atá i gceist. Roimh an toghchán, bhí Pairtí an Lucht Oibire go háirithe i gcoinne díola mar seo. Tá an Rialtas ag chur an locht ar an AE agus ar an IMF, agus de réir a chéile, níl an dara rogha againn. Tá rogha eile ann, agus níl sé riachtanach leanúint leis na polasaithe seo. Tá slí eile ann, agus leag Sinn Féin amach sa bhúiséad slí níos fearr gan a bheith ag díol mhaoin na ndaoine.

Recently the heads of Aer Lingus stated their concerns that any Government decision to sell off the public stake in the company would be detrimental to their business model. This model made a €71 million profit last year, which was nearly double the profit of the previous year. A 25% stake may not cream as much from that profit as the once-off pay off that we could get for selling the stake on the open market, but that is real profit accruing to the State every year. Some €71 million is a lot of profit, not to mind the taxes and incomes that are provided by this Irish company, but the Government has stated that it will wait for the best time to sell it off, or when it will be most attractive to do so. This means that Aer Lingus will be sold to make up part of the €3 billion that the Government intends to waste on repaying debt that is not ours to pay. It will be even more profitable than it is now, and will be a more juicy cherry to pick for the private business world.

The head of communications at Aer Lingus, Declan Kearney, said the following:

we would like to stress that our success is very much linked to building connectivity and partnerships with multiple airlines...Ireland is an island and we see it as our primary mission to connect Ireland with the world. If the stake is sold in a way that is offensive to any of our partners, that would damage our business model and the connectivity of the country.

What else do we get from this stake in what is seen around the world as a quality airline which is Irish through and through? I am not in the habit of quoting Michael O'Leary, but he made a good point about the future of Aer Lingus if it was sold off:

Aer Lingus will be broken up because everybody else only wants certain bits: the Heathrow slots and maybe the long-haul. Nobody wants the short-haul, because they will have to compete with Ryanair.

If we sell off Aer Lingus, we lose these slots to interests in the private market, which will do with them what they wish, with no concern for the connectivity of Ireland other than what suits their bottom line. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport told The Irish Times that there was no longer any strategic value in owning the Aer Lingus stake, but when we consider "not a red cent", "the second bailout" and other outrageous statements by the Minister, perhaps we should not give that too much consideration.

The State is not an entrepreneur or inventor which can just move on to the next project using the capital from the last sale. Our State assets like Aer Lingus, ESB, Bord Gáis and Coillte are vital to the interests of the people of this State, as was Telecom Éireann. The bottom line is that the quick sell off and the one-time pay off do nothing for us.

The ESB is a profit-making company that employs 7,000 people. In 2010, it made €340 million in profits. Bord Gáis did the same. The argument that we are only selling off non-strategic assets is the argument that led to the privatisation of companies and the loss of well-paid State jobs. There is an ideology behind selling off the State assets. There is a drive towards privatisation from this Government and we in Sinn Féin thoroughly oppose that.

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