Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Transport if he is currently examining proposals for the development of any new aircraft maintenance or engineering initiatives at Dublin, Cork or Shannon airports; if he has been briefed by an airline (details supplied) on that company's original plans for hangar 6; if his attention has been drawn to the location of this airline's proposed new maintenance investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12789/10]

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Transport the discussions he has had with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Dublin Airport Authority and an airline (details supplied) regarding hangar 6 at Dublin Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12826/10]

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Transport the contact that was made to him in relation to the proposals to create 500 jobs at Dublin Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12836/10]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 76 and 94 together. I have not received proposals for the development of new aircraft maintenance or engineering initiatives at Dublin, Shannon or Cork airports. In any event, these would be matters in the first instance for the Dublin Airport Authority, which operates the three State airports, and for the relevant development agencies.

I have not had discussions with Ryanair on its plans for hangar 6 at Dublin Airport, nor have I been specifically briefed by the company on other locations for the company's proposed new maintenance investment. I have been in close contact with the Dublin Airport Authority and my colleague, the Tánaiste, while she was Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, on the use of hangar 6, which is leased to Aer Lingus.

In recent correspondence with Ryanair, the Tánaiste has confirmed her wish to focus constructively on the possible alternatives to hangar 6, which include the use of available existing hangar space, new builds on available sites on airport land or some combination of the two. The legal position on hangar 6 has been set out comprehensively by the CEO of the DAA in his statement to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport on 24 February.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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During the controversy, was the Minister briefed by Mr. Michael O'Leary or others in Ryanair on the proposal for hangar 6? Does he have any information on where the much-talked of jobs were located? I did not notice it mentioned in any press release from Ryanair.

We got a good report from Mr. Barry O'Leary of the IDA at a meeting of the transport committee. He mentioned that hangers 1 to 6 were increasingly occupied by Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Dublin Aerospace and a garage operation. He told us hangars 3 and 4, which were then fully available to Mr. Michael O'Leary and Ryanair, were in a process of negotiation for a major maintenance project. Is the Minister aware of this?

With regard to aviation jobs in general, it is my understanding that since mid 2008, Ryanair removed approximately 500 jobs from the three main Irish airports in Dublin, Shannon and Cork. Was the Department given any information on this? I tried to raise this with the Minister on a number of occasions but I did not notice my Fine Gael colleagues jumping up and down about the loss of 500 critical jobs. Those were real jobs which would have been created at the three main airports but they have now gone elsewhere. Does the Minister have any comment to make on the matter?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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No, I was not briefed by Ryanair at any stage. I did not seek a briefing in respect of the hangar 6 issue, nor did I receive one. I was, however, fully briefed by the then Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment at that point.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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She is still Tánaiste.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes. I also had meetings with officials in my Department and their counterparts from the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Furthermore, I had brief discussions with representatives of Aer Lingus at one stage. I was, therefore, fully briefed about the matter while events were unfolding.

Hangars 3 and 4 were available to Mr. O'Leary at the time. One of these hangars is similar in size to the facility at Prestwick, while the other is larger. For some strange reason, however, a facility the size of that in Prestwick did not appear to fit the bill in Dublin. As the Deputy is aware, Dublin Aerospace had an interest in some of the buildings at Dublin Airport. Subsequently, that company established operations in hangar 5 and part of hangar 1. In addition, an aircraft painting company was due to move into certain of these buildings. The contract in that regard was awaiting signature prior to my departure abroad to carry out my duties for St. Patrick's Day and, as far as I am aware, that contract was signed. Much of the hangar space that was available at the airport is no longer unoccupied.

I cannot inform the Deputy with regard to the exact number of people Ryanair has made redundant in Ireland during the past ten to 15 months. I cannot argue against the figures he provided. As a result of cuts on routes from Shannon, Dublin, etc., I have seen a number of different figures from Ryanair in this regard. Announcements of job cuts of that nature on the part of Ryanair are usually accompanied by a tirade of abuse against the Government, individual Ministers, the DAA or whomever. The purpose of this is to distract attention away from the fact that such jobs are going elsewhere. That was the case in this instance, when Ryanair decided to try to create as much of a smokescreen as possible. That is par for the course with this company.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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That is a disgraceful comment. The Minister has launched an attack on a company that creates jobs. Over 432,000 jobs have been lost in recent times. Deputy Dempsey is the second Minister to indicate that he neither met or sought a meeting with representatives of Ryanair in order to discuss that company's proposals. Is it not a fact that Ryanair wrote to the Department, etc., stating that it wished to create 500 jobs? However, those in Government did nothing about it. Is it not the case that last week some Government Ministers went the extra 10,000 miles in order to try to attract jobs from New Zealand or wherever? Not one of them thought to travel to Dublin Airport in recent months in order to secure jobs. Instead of flying around the world, the Ministers to whom I refer should have sought a meeting with Michael O'Leary in order that they might discuss his plans with him.

Is it not a fact that the Minister failed to do this? His fundamental duty of care is to try to attract jobs to Dublin Airport. He is the line Minister with responsibility for the DAA but he did not seek to attract these jobs. He has again attacked, in a disgraceful fashion, a company which has created thousands of jobs and which is one of the largest airlines in Europe. This illustrates the Minister's completely callous attitude to the company in question and the jobs it creates.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I am only stating facts. I have the utmost regard for the achievements of Ryanair, which has created jobs, brought down the cost of air fares, etc. I have no difficulty acknowledging that. Ryanair is an Irish company and on a number of occasions my Department has been obliged to make representations at European level in respect of cases it has brought to its attention. I do not have a problem with regard to being even-handed in respect of this company. Equally, I am entitled to express my views. If the Deputy can find something untrue in what I said with regard to the tactics that are used by Ryanair, he can inform me of that fact.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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There is little point in rehearsing the history of this matter. It is clear to everyone that an opportunity was missed. Will the Minister outline his view on the current position at Aer Lingus? Staff are being threatened that they will be let go and then re-employed. All the while, they have also been informed that they will be able to avail of Government redundancy packages. Is this not an abuse of both taxpayers and the workers at Aer Lingus?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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These questions relate specifically to Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The matter to which the Deputy refers has been the subject of discussions at the LRC and is now the subject of a ballot among staff. I hope there will be a positive outcome for the company and for the employees concerned.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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It appears Mr. Mueller and the Aer Lingus management team were on the verge of acting illegally in the context of the course they were allegedly going to pursue in respect of vulnerable cabin crew. It must be noted, however, that the wages and conditions for such crew appear to be set in Ryanair's headquarters. That is one of the difficulties that arises. I reiterate that ten aircraft - which were making an important contribution to the economy - were withdrawn from this country and we have not had an opportunity to discuss the issue in the House. My colleagues in Fine Gael did not think the Ryanair cuts worthy of being raised here.

A few weeks ago the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Deputy Calleary, informed Senator Brendan Ryan and I that the process relating to the globalisation fund is so long and convoluted that it will be the end of the year before moneys will become available to the 800 former employees of SR Technics. Many of these individuals are commencing courses in aviation engineering at DCU and other universities. They already trained as engineers and are now intent on moving one step up. However, the colleges do not have the funding to facilitate them in this regard. There will be an eight month wait before funding becomes available. In view of the importance of aviation to the country and its economy, would it not be possible for the Government to assist these young men and women in completing their training?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy is broadening the scope of the question to an unacceptable degree.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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My final supplementary is related to the original questions.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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At least Deputy Reilly's supplementary was somewhat related to the matter under discussion. I do not know the answer to Deputy Broughan's question on the former employees of SR Technics and the globalisation fund.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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The process is extremely slow.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that. I will take the matter up with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation to see if something could be done for those involved.

The Deputy also referred to the difficulties at Aer Lingus and the cuts that have been made. I accept that the process involved is very painful. I do not know where the wages, etc., are being set. I am not sure they are being set by Ryanair or anyone else. The aviation industry is experiencing an extremely difficult period. Aer Lingus needs to continue with the process it currently has in train in order to try to survive. Sacrifices were made by Aer Lingus employees in the past. I am of the view that the case which has been put forward to the effect that cabin crew previously made major sacrifices is not unreasonable. Unfortunately, as a result of the downturn in both the economy and the aviation industry, they are being asked to make even further sacrifices. I am confident that if Aer Lingus can achieve what it has set out to achieve, there are better times ahead for both it and its staff.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Ryanair is one of the largest airlines in the world and has 231 aircraft. Aer Lingus, another excellent company, has only 45 aircraft. The difference in scale is massive. It would have been great had we attracted additional Ryanair business to Dublin Airport. I would fault the Minister and the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Coughlan, for not taking action in this regard. A year ago, Ryanair proposed to create 500 jobs at Dublin Airport. Now, however, those jobs have disappeared.

We have no control over Ryanair, which is the only airline that is creating jobs in the aviation industry.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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And taking jobs out when it suits it.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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It is reducing costs and overheads. The State has an influence through the Government being a shareholder in Aer Lingus. That is the point. However, I accept what the Minister stated. The Aer Lingus company is under excellent management now and it is time for both sides to get together - and most people are together on it - and vote on it, seal the pact and save the airline.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with the Deputy that it is wonderful to have an airline as commercially big, powerful and strong as Ryanair. I have no difficulty accepting that and stating that it is a good thing which has helped competitiveness in the aviation sector here also and that is extremely important. From the point of view of these jobs, every facility was given to Mr. O'Leary and the Tánaiste met him because it was her area of responsibility at the time. The best thing I could state is that if anybody really wants to know how serious the situation was they should look at the evidence given before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and the behaviour of the witness before that committee and form their own judgments.