Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is welcome that works are to be carried out on the runway of Cork Airport. This is a necessary investment in the airport. For obvious reasons, it is probably the right time to do it given that the level of air travel has reduced so much because of the pandemic. It is welcome that this work is taking place.

As the Deputy pointed out, the aviation sector has received a lot of financial support from the Government and the taxpayer. It is now running close to €500 million. This includes employment wage subsidies to the airlines, loans, wage subsidies for the airport, direct grants to all of the airports except Dublin Airport and funding for marketing supports. Anything that is happening with regard to Aer Lingus's employees in Cork Airport is an industrial relations matter and, therefore, principally a matter for the employer and its staff. It is a matter for the company and the unions and it is for them to engage.

I do not know enough about the dispute to comment on it definitively. That is why I need to be limited in what I say. However, if it is possible for Aer Lingus to keep those staff members on the payroll using the wage subsidy scheme, it would certainly make sense to do so. They might be on a reduced income but at least they would still be on the payroll and would still be connected to the company. It might not be that simple. The Deputy will now what happened with the base at Shannon, for example. When we discussed this with Aer Lingus and when it spoke publicly to others, the company made it very clear that it would have closed the base in any case, even if there had not been a pandemic. There were other reasons. It needed to restructure, reform and modernise the business. I do not know if that is a factor here or not. I encourage the employer to engage with the employees. I encourage Aer Lingus to talk to the union and see what can be worked out.

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