Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Whatever about what the State will get in terms of a potential sale, I wish to move onto the perspective of workers and trade unions. I joined a trade union at the age of 16. I have been a member of unions all my adult life and a shop steward for most of it. The principal concerns for people on this side of the House are redundancies and outsourcing. These were foremost on the minds of SIPTU and IMPACT when they spoke to probably all of us. In thrashing out a deal to protect those who currently work in Aer Lingus and those who will work there in the future, unions do what unions are supposed to do. They try to get the best deal for the people they represent. That is why unions exist. No negotiations end up with workers getting everything. It has never happened. Perhaps someone has an example of it happening-----

See this speech in context