Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter. I would rather we were not here this morning discussing the sale of what is left of Aer Lingus after the Fianna Fáil sale of the century. That party sold off three quarters of the company. The sale of the remaining shares in this company is bad for workers, customers and the economy. It is not only Sinn Féin that is saying that because the late Garret FitzGerald said it many times. I heard him speak at length about this. Many economists on the right, left and centre have outlined their position on and concerns about this in the recent and not-so-distant past.

The Minister and I know the guarantees are not worth the paper they are written on. I will tell him why they are not. All one has to do is look at the Irish Constitution and EU competition laws. The solicitors and barristers will have a field day. If any future Government, union or other body ever has the liathróidí to stand up to the international company IAG, take it on and try to challenge it over this, it will not be able to do so. IAG will rule the roost as it will own the company. When one sells something, it is gone. The conditions will not stand up to international, European or Irish law, and that is the fact of the matter. The guarantees are simply letters of comfort. All too often, we have seen where letters of comfort lead one; they lead one into a false comfort zone that brings one nowhere.

I heard Fianna Fáil having a go at the Government over this deal. It is correct to outline the problems with it but it was sickening listening to Fianna Fáil criticising the Government for selling off the remaining 25% share when Fianna Fáil itself sold three quarters of the company. Fianna Fáil is criticising the Government for selling a quarter of the company although it sold off three quarters of it for a fraction of what the Minister is supposed to be getting for one quarter. Deputies Seán Fleming and Timmy Dooley outlined their great concerns over this deal on the airwaves over the past few days. One could fall around the place laughing at the good of it but we want some consistency. It will be a bad day for Ireland, workers and the economy and the customers of Aer Lingus if this sale goes ahead.

I heard Labour Party Members claim they were persuaded to support the sale on the basis that jobs would be secured for existing staff. SIPTU has said that the company has told Minister of State Deputy Gerald Nash that it will establish registered employment agreements that will ensure there will be no compulsory redundancies or outsourcing. SIPTU is right on insisting that this be achieved before the sale is signed off on, bearing in mind that we do not want it to go ahead.

Why was the guarantee for the Aer Lingus workers written into the articles of agreement? The new industrial relations legislation, which the Government has said will embody the protections that were contained in the registered employment agreements, has been published and will be before the House later today. As matters stand, however, it will not be in place prior to the sale. Therefore, all the workers have been promised is the threadbare letter.

In general, Labour Party support for the sale further underlines the shift that party has made. It is now fully on board with Fine Gael, and in accord with the position of Fianna Fáil when it was in power, in respect of the privatisation of State assets. It refuses to support calls from Sinn Féin and others to support constitutional protection against the privatisation of other key State assets, such as Irish Water. We saw that earlier. The Labour Party will argue that other privatisations that have been recommended, such as that of Coillte, were not proceeded with. However, they were agreed in principle. The only reason for not going ahead with the sale of Coillte was that the Government was not offered enough money. As the report of Coillte showed, the economics of such a sale made no sense. It makes no sense to sell off key assets for a fraction of what they are really worth considering the cost of building them up over many years - almost 80 years in the case of Aer Lingus. This logic applies as much to Aer Lingus as to Coillte or any other public company. It would be absolutely outrageous for the sale to happen.

For Fianna Fáil to accuse the Government of being unpatriotic for proposing to sell off the remaining State share in Aer Lingus is very ironic. Fianna Fáil is the same party that, in 2006, decided to make the biggest move towards privatisation. A total of 75% of the total company stock of shares was put up for sale. It is generally agreed that this was a disaster. Fianna Fáil's sale of 75% was an absolute firesale and it was outrageous that it happened in the middle of a boom. Events at Aer Lingus since 2006 have demonstrated this. Over recent days, we have heard a lot about the fact that the company, being small, cannot survive in the global market but I have heard some experts say in recent days that because of our strategic location in the north Atlantic, we are strategically positioned for Aer Lingus business to grow as it is. Aer Lingus had plans to go ahead with the expansion of its business. Its balance sheet over the past couple of years, particularly last year, shows that the company is highly profitable.

If I have a choice between flying with Ryanair and Aer Lingus, I prefer to fly with Aer Lingus. It sometimes costs a bit more but I am prepared to pay a bit extra because of loyalty. If the company were sold off, I would not have any loyalty to an international company. I am sure there are many people like me throughout the State. I prefer to fly with Aer Lingus when I can, not that I do a lot of flying. On the one or two occasions per year that I get out of the place, I go with Aer Lingus.

Fianna Fáil also planned the wholesale privatisation of other companies before it was defeated and lost power in 2011. When it was in power, it privatised the very successful company Irish Sugar. In 2006, it let go the last share in Greencore and facilitated the closure of the Irish sugar sector. This should not have happened. It was a prelude to a property deal. Hundreds of jobs were lost in Laois, Carlow and other counties. As a consequence, the workers, growers and contractors were left with a pittance in compensation at that stage. Of course, we discovered later that the EU rules showed that what occurred was not necessary. It was not necessary to close the sugar industry, despite the claim of the then Minister, Mary Coughlan, and other Fianna Fáil spokespersons. I remember attending meetings at which I learned that the bulk of the compensation paid out under Fianna Fáil went to Greencore, not the workers, contractors or growers in Laois, Carlow and the surrounding counties. There is absolute hypocrisy.

Today, Fine Gael and the Labour Party are in the driving seat. The Minister must ensure the deal does not go ahead. It is not worth the paper it is written on. The documents and letters that have been issued to the Minister are not worth the paper they are written on because they will simply not stand up to future scrutiny.

We cannot continue with the troika of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party that is in favour of privatisation. I am asking the Minister to hold off on this and refer the matter to the transport committee so it can tease out all the issues in full next week. To proceed with this deal after two short debates in this Chamber over the past couple days would be outrageous. It must stop. The Minister must refer the matter to the transport committee so all these issues can be teased out fully and he should press the pause button on this sale.

See this speech in context