Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

This is a carrier's liability Bill. It is a touching and welcome development that the Labour Party should seek to transfer to the State, which is not making a profit from this transaction, all the extra costs of ensuring that people comply with the law and to exonerate the private companies who are making profits from any duty to ensure that they fulfil their part of the bargain and present their passengers in an orderly fashion to the immigration officers of the State. I do not follow this new found concern for privately operated airlines, because nowadays most of them are privately operated, as Senator McDowell will know—