Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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The aviation sector has been decimated by the pandemic. Workers across the State are on reduced hours, reduced pay, the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, and the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS. Some have lost their jobs. This week, we heard the devastating news that Aer Lingus has announced further job losses and base closures. More than 140,000 jobs depends on us getting this right and ensuring the sector comes through but the Minister's hands-off attitude to date has made the situation much worse. Our connectivity has to be protected. It has to be front and centre, as do the jobs. Dealing with social welfare for Aer Lingus workers has been a battle a day and we now learn that their short-term work supports will be cut off. Will the Minister please intervene to ensure that, at the very least, they are kept on the minimum payments until the Government publishes the plan for the survival and recovery of the aviation sector, which is desperately needed?

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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From the outset of the pandemic, workers and unions in the aviation sector have called for two things: supports and a plan. The Government has a responsibility to protect strategic connectivity. The levels of support for workers, airlines and airports are a fraction of what is needed, based on international comparisons. The fact that there have been no conditions for the protection of jobs and strategic connectivity is simply a disgrace. Where is the plan and what is it? The Joint Committee on Transport and Communications Networks, the aviation recovery task force, the National Civil Aviation Development Forum, NCADF and Professor Mark Ferguson have all made submissions on this matter. We all appreciate that the reopening of travel will have to be done safely but there are major concerns that we will not be able to avail of the opportunity that the digital green certificate and other developments present. We need to be prepared for that.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am here to speak specifically about the Aer Lingus cabin crew base closure at Shannon Airport. It has been devastating for the workers and their families. As well as that, having a base at Shannon is critical for connectivity because of the early morning and early afternoon Heathrow slots and because it provides transatlantic connectivity to Aer Lingus. I have two questions. I know the Minister has had discussions with Aer Lingus so I ask that follow-up discussions be held now. We had a meeting with the Taoiseach earlier in that regard.

The plan that will allow aviation to reopen in a safe way is to be launched next week and the digital green certificate has been announced for the end of June. I ask that this be front-loaded. My main concern is that Aer Lingus must reverse its decision and re-establish its cabin crew base at Shannon Airport. The State is paying the PUP to staff who have been temporarily laid off. That payment is in place to bring the staff and the airline through so they can resume the Heathrow and transatlantic routes. I understand the airline has committed to connectivity but we must have that base to ensure absolute security in that area.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I rise to support Aer Lingus workers. The Minister will tell us that the Government has an €80 million aviation plan and that €120 million was given to Aer Lingus by Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF.

What are needed now are direct supports for workers to stave off and stop those job losses in Cork and Shannon airports. The Government must start subventing those jobs, keep the employees on the payroll and ensure they can get through this period of turmoil. It must enable us to retain those jobs in future and save our Aer Lingus airline. That is the important point to be made. I ask the Minister to please not come with the response that he has already given €80 million to the aviation industry, because nothing specifically has been given to the airline sector. People will tell us that schemes, such as the employee wage support scheme, EWSS, and the Covid-19 restrictions support scheme, CRSS, were devised for other sectors. What we want now, though, is to preserve these jobs, keep these people in their uniforms and ensure they can support and sustain their families in the short term until we have the recovery plan.

The other aspect which must be addressed is the report on Covid-19 rapid testing. We must have an honest debate on what the digital green certificate is going to look like. A distinction must be made between what is a PCR test and what is an antigen test. We need to have an honest debate in that context about what antigen testing means. We cannot hide behind the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, in this respect. We must ensure that the best epidemiological advice, as determined globally, is used in respect of travel.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As has been articulated by the Deputies, Aer Lingus unfortunately announced several cost-cutting measures on Tuesday, 18 May. These included the temporary closure of its base in Cork Airport from September to November this year and the permanent closure of the cabin crew base in Shannon Airport. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and I met the CEO of Aer Lingus yesterday. Among other things, we discussed yesterday's announcement, which is deeply regrettable. I acknowledge the difficult and unprecedented challenges being faced by Aer Lingus and its staff and the cost pressures leading to the ultimate decision to restructure the company.

The continued international crisis in aviation is increasing the pressure on all firms in the industry. All airlines have variously issued capital, raised further borrowing, drawn on Government supports or taken measures to reduce their cost bases or both. Major European airlines, such as Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, and IAG, have announced many thousands of job cuts. I assure Aer Lingus and the wider aviation sector that the Government is fully committed to supporting the industry and we acknowledge the importance of providing clarity on the extent and duration of the employment supports before the end of June. We recognise as well that the critical issue for the industry is a roadmap for the restoration of international travel. The Government intends to set out a pathway for the gradual reopening of international travel at its meeting next week. I hope there will be an extensive Dáil debate and statements on the issue next Tuesday, which will enable Deputies to set out their thinking in that regard.

We also met yesterday with the CEO of Shannon Group and the managing director of Cork Airport to brief them on the situation and to reiterate Government support for the airports and their important role in regional development. Similar engagements occurred between the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and the unions and employer representative groups in her capacity as chair of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, and its aviation subgroup, at its meeting this week. The Government is acutely aware of the devastating impact Covid-19 restrictions are having on the aviation sector nationally and across the world. We are committed to ensuring that the aviation sector will be in a position to rebound quickly when the public health situation allows.

Government supports continue to be used to aid companies and their staff throughout this crisis. Throughout the pandemic, the Government has made significant funding available to Aer Lingus and other aviation enterprises through a range of business supports. It is estimated that by the end of June 2021, the sector will have received approximately €300 million in such supports. The bulk of those supports was in the form of the temporary wage subsidy scheme, TWSS, and the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, programmes, which were specifically designed to maintain the link between employers and employees. An additional €32.1 million is also being provided in respect of support for Cork and Shannon airports this year. My Department is also assessing applications for funding to the State airports under the auspices of the €20 million Covid-19 supplementary support scheme, and the Minister of State expects to be in a position to provide funding to Cork and Shannon airports under this scheme shortly.

All our thoughts today are with those impacted by the announcement by Aer Lingus yesterday and with all those in the aviation industry who continue to be impacted by the biggest crisis this sector has ever faced. I assure workers and all those involved in the aviation industry that the Government will continue to support the industry and to review the supports which may be required in the months to come. While we are not yet able to permit the restoration of international travel, work is under way to ensure that we are prepared for exactly that situation. Until then, the Government will continue to provide supports to the aviation sector, as we do to all sectors of the economy. Aviation has been particularly badly hit. It, along with tourism and hospitality, are the areas which deserve our greatest help, support and attention and those elements will be provided in every way we can.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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Sinn Féin vigorously opposed the privatisation of Aer Lingus in 2015 by Fine Gael and the Labour Party. We said at that time that it would cost jobs. Unfortunately, that decision has left the Government severely weakened in its position and that is obvious. I ask the Minister to engage proactively with Aer Lingus, and to not come in here and list the supports every sector is getting. The aviation sector has been hit harder than most. Surely, the Minister must acknowledge that. Can the Minister please advise us regarding when we are going to see a recovery plan for aviation, because Sinn Féin has been requesting that for months?

That recovery plan must include antigen testing and the digital green certificate. We need a roadmap out of this situation, because, at the very least, that will give Aer Lingus confidence that it will be able to retain those bases because business will be coming back. The Minister is not giving the airline that confidence now. From talking to people in the sector, I know they are deeply disappointed at his hands-off attitude. They do not believe the Minister is committed to aviation and the retention of these jobs. He must step up to the plate and demonstrate such commitment.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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Regarding the scale of the supports, the Minister mentioned €300 million by the end of June. Other countries are providing many times that level of support. In addition, with that €300 million, we have no commitment regarding strategic connectivity or the protection of jobs. That is completely inexcusable. The aviation sector will have to recover, and we will need it to be strong and robust in future. The supports must be continued and significantly increased immediately. A clear plan is also required, and, as Deputy O'Reilly outlined, it must involve the digital green certificate, be detailed clearly and involve the prospect of antigen testing to deal with the quarantine restrictions, which we all hope to relax when it is safe to do so.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am a Deputy from the constituency of Limerick City in the mid-west. Connectivity through Shannon Airport is vital. It is a key component of our economic and tourism model. Crucial in that respect is the need to have an Aer Lingus cabin crew base located at Shannon Airport to ensure it is possible to provide flights at times which suit business people in the region and tourists. In that regard, I have two requests. First, I understand from the Taoiseach that the Government will continue to engage with Aer Lingus to seek to reverse the closure of the cabin crew base. Second, whatever supports are needed should be provided to ensure we can retain that base in Shannon.

Finally, regarding the reopening, and we look forward to that announcement of the plan next week, I ask that it be done in a way that will enable us to be ready when the full resumption of air travel occurs and the digital green certificate comes in at the end of June. That would enable us to have the Common Travel Area operational and the Heathrow route up and running as quickly as possible, as well as transatlantic flights. Aer Lingus is a key part of making that happen, and, in turn, an essential component in that regard is the retention of the cabin crew base. That is an important aspect, in addition to the jobs themselves.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Mention was made of the common travel area, transatlantic flights, the digital green certificate, antigen testing, maintaining people in uniforms and protecting jobs. In that context, the base in Cork Airport is closing for three months. When the reopening plan is unveiled, will it enable people who work for Aer Lingus in Cork Airport to be confident that their jobs will be protected and restored and the temporary lay-off will be reversed? That is what those people are looking to the Government to do. I ask the Minister please to think of the people of Cork.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We absolutely think of the people of Cork, Limerick and Shannon. I have spoken to representatives of Aer Lingus and Cork and Shannon airports. The answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". The decision to shut Cork Airport to upgrade the runway to ensure the long-term success of the airport was a strategic decision made by the airport authority. When I spoke to representatives of Aer Lingus yesterday, I asked them specifically whether the possibility of the airport remaining closed had any influence on the decision or if there is any sense that the airport will not open again after the runway is rebuilt. The answer was "No". I was told that it was an appropriate decision to take to use this period of very limited air travel to upgrade the runway.

In answer to Deputy O'Donnell's question, connectivity will absolutely return to Shannon Airport. It is vital. In fact, I expect that as Cork Airport shuts down in September for the runway to be upgraded, we will see an immediate return of flights from Shannon to make sure that the south-western region has connectivity. However, it cannot be just that. There must be connectivity with the US and other new areas. It will take time, but those airports will return and the jobs will return with them. Our attention is firmly fixed on this issue.

When I am in discussions with representatives of the airports and the airlines, they are more concerned about, and desire more than anything, an understanding of the timeline in respect of the reopening of international travel. As a Government, we committed to providing that timeline by the end of this month, which we will. Statements on aviation due to be made in the Dáil next week will be a most useful opportunity for the members of the Opposition to set out their views as to what that plan and timeline should be. I look forward to hearing what every Member has to say. There will be plenty of time during statements to go into the detail of the matter.

In reflecting upon what we have heard here, we need to be ambitious and get our aviation sector back. We must heed public health advice, but with the roll-out of the vaccination programme, there is the possibility of a return to travel. I have not heard many experts in the area or people in the international sector, or indeed domestically, cite the fact that antigen testing will be key or critical in that regard. I have heard that in respect of the digital green certificate. Antigen testing will have a role to play in widespread screening to enable the return to offices and colleges. I am happy, by all means, for a Deputy to show me an example of international efforts where antigen testing is being used to provide widespread screening to enable air travel. However, and from what I hear and see, it is not the key issue. The key issue is the application of the digital green certificate and the extension, in effect, of the traffic light system that we have introduced. This will enable a return to travel and ensure that we can get connectivity back with our colleagues in the UK, US and Europe, in particular. In truth, in the start-back phase, it is most likely that we will see a return of air travel with those countries that are vaccinating their populations at the same rate and following the same timelines as us. Indeed, some of them may even be ahead of us. It will take time, but we will recover as a country. Our sole focus is to get the aviation sector, and the tourism, hospitality and business sectors that depend on it, back.