Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I will ignore the hecklers, both politically and in every other way.

I object to the manner in which the motion is being steamrolled through the Dáil. We should not be holding a vote on the issue today because it has become abundantly clear that the debate in the past 24 hours is not supported by information, documents or the letters of comfort and assurance the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport tells us he possesses. Where else have we heard about letters of comfort and assurance? The motion is being rushed through to prevent the communities, workers and families of Aer Lingus staff from putting pressure on Labour Party Deputies, in particular. Those Deputies are breaking a promise they made nine years ago when their then leader, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, jumped up and down to object to the sale of 75% of Aer Lingus. They are now saying Fianna Fáil put two bullets into the horse and even though the Labour Party is going to shoot the final bullet, they will not be the murderers. I am sorry to tell them that they will. They are putting the final nail into the coffin of public control over Aer Lingus. Will they, please, not confuse the issue? They could have sought to increase Government ownership of Aer Lingus by buying shares in the company, as recommended by the economist Paul Sweeney. It is a very important company for the country and one of the top 20 indigenous companies. This is treachery on the part of the Labour Party and we should not vote on the issue until the communities of Dublin West, Dublin North, Cork and Shannon have had a chance to ask their Deputies about it.

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