Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No decision has been made on the bid for Aer Lingus. It is a proposed bid that the Government is considering. The matters raised by Deputy Costello are the issues the Government has to consider. The Deputy asked how any guarantee would be overseen and implemented. IAG has indicated it would need to have legal standing, be objective, and could be verified. It has put forward a case for this. The Government will have to consider all these matters. The core issue for me in any decision will be more than just the price of a share. We have to look at the impact on access and the ability of our country to grow in the medium to long term. As for the future of the Aer Lingus board, I cannot forecast what IAG might do were it to acquire the company. The ability to appoint a director to a board is directly related to how much one owns of the company. Accordingly, the number of directors the State can appoint to the Aer Lingus board is directly related to the size of the shareholding the State has in the company. That is why we can appoint up to three directors. We currently have two appointees on the board of directors. Mr David Begg resigned from the board several weeks ago. That is a matter to which I am giving consideration.

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