Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The regulation has been signed by the Minister. I will talk to the Minister for Justice and come back to the Deputy.

Deputy Barry raised the Aer Lingus issue. I have met with Aer Lingus representatives. The Government's objective was to maintain the viability of airlines and airports and support their workers through the pandemic. We provided the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, which has been a huge support. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, independently provided a loan facility to Aer Lingus. It has been challenging. It is a private company. We pressed with them the need to look after their workers. They would say the collapse in air travel has been a huge factor in the losses of over €1 billion the company has endured during the pandemic. It is probably more at this stage.

They would have been very opposed to zero Covid policies, which they felt would have killed off the airline and the industry. The Deputy put forward that proposal at the time. People in the House come forward at different times saying the Government must do this and that for aviation, and the next month they say the Government should do X and Y to support the industry. It does not always square and the Deputy's position on aviation does not square. The realities of the pandemic are real. We have done everything we can to support workers through unprecedented interventions. I am conscious that people and cabin crews have suffered. Everyone working in the airline-----

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