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

By no means least, a Cheann Comhairle. The reopening of the United States of America for non-essential travel is an important moment for Aer Lingus. The company is running 70 flights to the United States this week and every seat on those flights has been booked. The company now plans to increase transatlantic capacity for the months ahead. This should be the moment Aer Lingus withdraws the austerity proposals with which it has confronted its workforce. Those proposals, as the Taoiseach knows, include a wage freeze to 2024, lower starting pay rates and cuts to both shift allowances and sick pay. However, Aer Lingus has not withdrawn these proposals. The Taoiseach's Government has the power to put pressure on that company to do so. The fact Aer Lingus's wage bill is being paid in large measure by the State through the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, gives the Taoiseach's Government real leverage here. Will the Taoiseach now take the opportunity to take appropriate action to defend the wages and conditions of these key workers?

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