Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the difficulty the Minister is in by virtue of the Irish Takeover Panel having deemed Aer Lingus to be in an offer period. I wrote to the Minister immediately following the publication of the news of the first takeover bid on 19 December 2014. I do not know if that was considered an offer period then, so perhaps a more detailed reply may have been possible. In any event, I did not receive one but I welcome the fact the Minister has come to the Chamber this evening to discuss the matter and appreciate the importance he has attached to connectivity and the Heathrow slots.

When I wrote to the Minister in December, I requested an assurance that any sale by the Government would be contingent on maintaining Heathrow slots for Shannon flights and that this would be legally binding in the event of a sale. That really is the crux of the matter and what I hope for from the Government. It is not enough that it offers to retain the Heathrow slots. There needs to be some legally binding mechanism to ensure they cannot be sold on if the company is sold and they can be used for another destination.

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