Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

We are an island nation. We cannot have a fully rounded discussion on tourism without discussing the aviation industry and air connectivity. Questions on that must be directed to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport first and foremost, but I wish to raise some points during this debate as it is greatly relevant to tourism.

Two key airlines in this State, Ryanair and Aer Lingus, have been heavily impacted by the coronavirus crisis, as has every airline across Europe and the globe. Ryanair has spoken of 3,000 redundancies, a 20% cut in pay for employees and the closure of bases throughout Europe. Aer Lingus has spoken of a 20% cut in its workforce, approximately 900 people. There should be no job losses and no cuts in income for people working in the airlines. Companies such as Ryanair are in a position to absorb those losses. Ryanair has lost out to the tune of €300 million due to coronavirus. It made €1 billion profit last year. If it says it cannot afford to keep 3,000 jobs or to maintain wages, then I say we cannot afford to keep these companies in private ownership, run on a for-profit basis. They should both be nationalised and combined into one publicly owned national aviation company. I favour paying compensation but on the basis of proven need. Since 2008, Ryanair has paid out €6.8 billion in dividends and share buy-backs, most of them to the idle rich.

Aer Lingus paid €225 million in dividends in 2018 alone. I agree absolutely with compensation for worker pension funds euro for euro and cent for cent, but not at all with compensation for the majority who have benefited from the bonanza during the past decade. Not one cent should go to them.

I believe a publicly-owned aviation company in this country would not only be good for tourism but also for facing the climate challenge that the State and the globe will face in the coming ten years. If we cut out the profit motive, we are in a far stronger position to organise a just transition with a reduction in air travel and maintenance of jobs and living standards in a reasonable fashion for employees. That will not be done with a for-profit model. It will not be done with the likes of Michael O'Leary at the helm. It can be done. It is a challenge but it can be done on the basis of public ownership and democratic control.

My final point is on democratic control. We are not talking about public ownership the likes of which we had with the banks ten years ago where they were nationalised but still run in the interests of the rich and the establishment in society. We need industry run in the interests of the majority of the working people. That means public ownership with democratic control, worker control and worker management. I will leave it at that.

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