Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Are any of the trustees beneficiaries of the deferred scheme? I do not have the answer, but it certainly arises as a potential conflict of interest.

Aer Lingus is now returning a fairly substantial profit and is doing quite well commercially. However, it seems very unwilling to deal with the problem. The Government has not pursued that issue. I am conscious that this is recently on the Minister's watch. He has drawn attention to the fact that the deficit increased substantially from €344 million to €769 million between early 2011 and March 2013, which was under the watch of this Government. The Taoiseach made some extraordinary comments on the matter in the Dáil in recent weeks. He said that the issue had dragged on for years and had been allowed to drift. However, he did not seem to assume any responsibility for that or provide any solutions. I am afraid that what the trustees recommended to the Minister in November does not offer a solution.

We are aware of the water protest outside the gates of Leinster House today. People are protesting for different reasons - many because they cannot pay and many others not for that reason but because they are frustrated over how the Irish Water quango was established. These are people who are terrified that they genuinely will not be able to pay the water charges. Many of them are living in rented accommodation and cannot pay their rents and have no security of tenure. These are genuine risks.

I believe the Minister has serious concern for their plight, but we need a better solution than what has been put on the table by Aer Lingus and the DAA. We need something much more comprehensive than the trustees' proposal.

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