James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate what I said. The disingenuousness of Fianna Fáil knows no bounds. A man stands up in the Dáil and talks about selling 100% of Aer Lingus. It was sold into private hands by Fianna Fáil, let there be no doubt about it.

The deal that the Government has done is a good deal, for Dublin and Ireland. It will provide a boost to jobs and tourism while securing the future of Aer Lingus. This is something that did not bother the two gentlemen who are now leaving the Chamber.

This deal secures in perpetuity a veto on the sale of the Heathrow Airport slots. This was not achieved by Fianna Fáil either. Today, the State has no control over the airports that use the Heathrow slots. This deal guarantees that Aer Lingus will continue to operate its current daily winter and summer scheduled flights, based on current frequencies, between Heathrow Airport and Dublin Airport, Heathrow Airport and Cork Airport and Heathrow Airport and Shannon Airport for at least seven years. In addition, the slots currently operated from Belfast airport to Heathrow Airport will continue to be used at airports on the island of Ireland for the next five years.

This deal secures the future of Aer Lingus. There will be significant job creation. Eight new wide-bodied jets will be added to the Aer Lingus fleet. By next summer, two new transatlantic routes will serve Dublin Airport. By 2020, this will increase to four new transatlantic routes. This ensures more jobs in Aer Lingus and in Dublin Airport. It will deliver up to 2.4 million additional passengers, providing a boost to the tourism industry throughout the island. In the coming year, an additional 150 jobs are expected in Aer Lingus. This is 200 jobs in all when one considers the 50 that may have to go. The figure is to rise to 635 by 2020.

The use of lAG's network will enable Ireland to become an important hub for European traffic across the Atlantic. IAG has confirmed that the existing employment rights of Aer Lingus employees will be fully safeguarded.

All registered employee arrangements will be re-registered. This is a great tribute to the patience, skill and negotiating ability of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Aer Lingus is a great company. I am proud that Aer Lingus is one of the oldest airlines in the world still operating today. The decision to establish Aer Lingus was more than just the setting up of an airline. It was an expression to the rest of the world of the determination of a fledgling nation to take its place among the countries of the world. Its success over the decades is a source of national pride. This deal respects this unique heritage of Aer Lingus.

Aer Lingus will remain an Irish company. It will maintain its head office in Ireland. Its flights will continue to operate under the "Aer Lingus" brand name. Aer Lingus will keep the affection of many Irish people throughout the world. The world in 2015 is unrecognisable from the world of 1936, the year Aer Lingus first took flight. Nowhere is this more true than in the world of aviation. Today, Aer Lingus faces difficult challenges and risks. Across Europe, many state airlines have failed. Cyprus Airways, Malev and Hungarian Airways have all gone the way of the dodo. Finnair and the Portuguese airline, TAP, are the only other examples of national, small independent airlines competing against larger rivals. Aer Lingus had already been privatised by Fianna Fáil. That aeroplane has long flown. We need to find a way to use the remaining quarter of Aer Lingus that we own to put the company on the best possible path to secure its future. This deal does just that.

Some Members of the Opposition are suggesting doing nothing is an option without consequences. Let us be clear - it is not an option. Aer Lingus has already been privatised. The State only has a minority shareholding. There is nothing to prevent a hostile takeover of Aer Lingus. A hostile takeover will not have the interests of the airline, its employees or the country at heart. A hostile takeover would be free to move the Heathrow slots away from Irish routes overnight. A hostile takeover would not be obliged to respect registered employee arrangements. A hostile takeover would not provide assurances that Aer Lingus will grow and employ more people in the future

Fianna Fáil has spoken here tonight and I must say that it is galling to hear those who privatised Aer Lingus criticise this deal. They surrendered State control of the airline and of the slots in Heathrow Airport a long time ago. When they privatised the company, they failed to secure the assurances that we have now received. They failed to control the use of slots at Heathrow Airport. They left themselves powerless to act when Aer Lingus decided to switch the use of these slots from Shannon Airport to Belfast airport. Fianna Fáil's attack on this deal is old-style cynical politics at its worst. They are attacking this deal for the sake of attacking it. They are hoping to mislead the public in a desperate attempt to win back a handful of votes at the next election. This cynical approach to politics has served this country so poorly in the past. Where is responsible opposition? Where is Fianna Fáil's sense of national pride? I do not see a single Member of the Opposition in this Chamber - people who would stand over there and display some passion for this company that is such an integral part of our nation. Not one of these individuals is to be seen. Where is their national pride and where is their desire to put the country ahead of their party? Have they learned nothing? After the painful recession that we are now emerging from, the public expect better from politicians. This is the type of behaviour that makes the public switch off from politics.

It is the exact opposite of what we experienced over the past few weeks. In every constituency in the country, people who never even voted before were knocking on doors campaigning for their rights or for the rights of others. The Irish abroad sacrificed their annual leave and their savings to travel to the polling booth from all parts of the world. The decisive result provided a new optimism in what politics can achieve. A minority were made equal by a majority through persuasion and sharing stories. That is the power of politics. Fianna Fáil may not have noticed this. It may have been oblivious to it. After barely lifting a finger to participate in that process, it is now reverting to type and is engaging in the type of politics that disillusions young people to the point where they do not even to register to vote. Is it any wonder that the public have turned their backs on Fianna Fáil and that its own members are turning their backs on Fianna Fáil? Is it any wonder that one of its brightest young leading lights has turned her back on Fianna Fáil?

Let me emphasise again why this is a good deal for Aer Lingus and for Ireland. It strengthens the competitive position of Aer Lingus, reduces risk to the company and provides it with an opportunity within a larger group to grow and face the challenges in a changing aviation environment. It gives greater certainty around our connectivity to Heathrow. It strengthens the guarantees we have around the disposal of Heathrow slots and provides new guarantees around slot utilisation for at least seven years that we do not have today. It promotes Ireland's wider connectivity and can bring growth to our airports. It is anticipated this move will bring benefits to both Aer Lingus's long haul and short haul networks within the IAG group. There will be a focus on sustaining and growing routes from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Knock airports. It will create employment. It is envisaged that by the end of 2016, a new net 150 jobs will have been created in Aer Lingus, rising to a new net total of 635 jobs by 2020. It protects the Aer Lingus brand and keeps its head office in Ireland.

Before I sit down to allow Deputy Pat Breen to speak, there are many great and brave people in our country who can compete on the world stage and many of them are in Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus need have no fear. Its ability, innovation and entrepreneurship will see it well into the future and will ensure our future connectivity to the rest of the world.

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