Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, Aer Lingus is not our national airline and we do not have a national airline per se. It is a public limited company traded on the stock market and the Government owns a share of that company. The Government's position is as it has been for quite some time and we are willing to sell the stake but only at the right price and only to the right buyer. It should be under the right terms and conditions.

At the moment I see those conditions as being very hard to meet because there is such uncertainty both with the pension deficit and the case involving the Ryanair stake. Whether Ryanair will have to sell down will have a large bearing on the situation.

The privatisation of Aer Lingus has been a success story. This is a company that used to require State support and now it pays a dividend. It is also a company that used to be in serious financial trouble and it has recently had its best quarter ever, is making profits and is expanding. It is a good example of how the sale of State assets can be in the public interest.

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