Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will be supporting the motion. Let us be clear. This is not about the privatisation of Aer Lingus because the privatisation of Aer Lingus happened a decade ago. I see Deputy Billy Kelleher in the Chamber who will well remember the debates back in July 2006 when the Fianna Fáil Government introduced a motion in the Houses of the Oireachtas to privatise Aer Lingus. As such, 75% of the national airline was privatised by Fianna Fáil and this debate is not about a privatisation of the company. Privatisation happened. This motion is about how we ensure we get the best deal possible for the company, the workers, the taxpayer and the country as a whole. That is why when the announcement was made six months ago about the proposed buy-out of the Government's shareholding by IAG, a number of Labour Party Deputies got together to discuss how to get the best possible deal for those four key sectors. We sat down and came up with a motion that was put to the Labour Party's national conference in February 2015. I have the wording of the motion in front of me and nowhere does it refer to what Deputy Thomas P. Broughan stated. I recommend that the Deputy get a copy of the motion before he spouts nonsense about what is in it.

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