Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the Taoiseach marked four years of this Fine Gael-Labour Party neoliberal Government. Today, that same agenda is creating huge uncertainty among Aer Lingus workers, their families and the communities who depend on Aer Lingus for employment and connectivity. This anxiety has been created by the Government refusing to reject decisively the bid by IAG to buy the Government's shares. It is a decision that could see us relinquish any public control over the airline and this island's aviation bridge to the rest of the world, leaving foreign-owned private companies whose only concern is profit with full control over access in and out of this country.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has sent IAG off with a little tut-tut to come back with a better price in the next few weeks, but the consequences for this country will last far longer than it will take to spend the bag of silver the Government will get for any sale of Aer Lingus. Not only would this country lose a profitable company, something the Government spends a fortune sending the IDA out to find, there are massive implications for north Dublin, Cork, Shannon and the Limerick regions which are struggling in the recession.

We are told relentlessly by the media that poor little Aer Lingus will not survive alone, but poor little Aer Lingus has been making healthy profits for years. In 2013, it made an operating profit of €61.1 million. The Taoiseach might tell some of his young Deputies like the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, if they can contain themselves for a moment with the flattery and attention from this multinational company, that Aer Lingus does not need IAG.

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