Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lowry for his contribution, which was very reasoned and moderate. What he voiced are the opinions I have heard all over the House for the past two hours. It is a plea for the workforce and an understanding of the extraordinary change which has been made to their lives so suddenly. That is something which all sides of the House share. It is matter of how we address something which is utterly unprecedented.

The special pleading which has been made for Shannon in the House today is very convincing, not just for strategic reasons but also because of the conditions and difficulties in which the workforce find themselves and because many people feel the airlines have behaved in a way that is lacking the sympathy which might have been expected. On the other side of that coin, we have to acknowledge that what we are facing is a lot of airports and airlines haemorrhaging money. If the situation went on and we had not taken the action that we did, some of them would be facing oblivion. If they were facing oblivion, the workforce would be in a worse situation because there would be no jobs for anybody.

We are trying to create a space where we provide those supports which I have already listed. Shannon Airport, which the Deputy mentioned, and other airports are using the temporary wage subsidy scheme and the pandemic unemployment benefit is going to people who have, unfortunately, been laid off. We have introduced possible three-month rates waivers, stabilisation recovery funds and all sorts of subsidies and supports for airlines and the people who have been badly affected. That is not a panacea and has not worked totally, but it has recognised the real difficulties in which people may find themselves.

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