Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

Once again, the Labour Party has shown its unwillingness and inability to do what it promised to do in government, namely, to protect working people. The final 25.1% "golden share", as it was called the time, is to be sold to a major multinational, IAG. Like the banks and other major multinational companies, its shareholders will come before the needs of a nation or the workers. We have seen this across the board. Their interests are not the national interests or the workers' interests but the shareholders' interests. The Minister rightly said that Fianna Fáil paved the way. The Minister has put the nail in the coffin. He has carried through the full privatisation of Aer Lingus, our national State airline. As with the implementation of the austerity measures to which Fianna Fáil had committed, the Government took the baton and ran with it, despite having said differently.

This is part of the sale of our State assets, a deal made with the troika whereby €3 billion is supposed to be raised from the sale of State assets, two thirds of which is to be used to pay the bank debt. It is disgraceful, and the Government should hang its head in shame. We cannot wrap it up in a nice Christmas box with a bow around it and talk about all the brilliant things that will happen. Again, the Government is extending the inevitable for another five to six years, or possibly seven years, if we even get that from it. In the meantime, there is no guarantee that IAG will not be taken over or that conditions will not change and employees again face job losses or redundancies.

I appeal to the Government to step back and give itself time to re-examine this. The B share that is supposed to be part of the Government's protection of the connectivity and slots must be checked to ensure that it is the situation. We do not know. Nobody has come out and said the Government has checked it legally and that it has been cleared with the people in Europe who monitor and check these things. The Government should hold off, give itself breathing space and examine the entire deal. Government backbenchers should not listen to Willie Walsh but should listen to the unions.

I contacted the chairperson of the central representative council in Aer Lingus, Evan Cullen, and he said:

We remain absolutely opposed to this offer. We believe the Government has sold Aer Lingus for all the wrong reasons for a ridiculously low price. We believe, in time, the connectivity will be reduced to the island and fares will rise. We believe there will be substantial job losses in Ireland and there will be outsourcing of work to other cheaper jurisdictions.

Labour Party backbenchers should listen to the Aer Lingus unions, not to Willie Walsh.

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