Shane Ross (Independent)

I endorse some of the words of Senators O'Toole, Ó Murchú and others on the restraint being shown on all sides of this House with regard to the political events of the past few days. It is extremely easy to sit in judgment on other people's integrity and exploit misfortunes for political advantage. I applaud that nobody in this House has done that. It is easy to convert the difficulties of others into a type of political blood sport in a premature fashion. That the Seanad has today resisted that temptation is to the credit of Members.

I wish to mention a matter that in normal circumstances would have been more prominent today, the flotation of Aer Lingus. Perhaps the Leader of the House could ask the Minister for Transport to come before the House to explain what has happened. We are very much in danger of swallowing the spinning which has been going on. I have already seen today the Minister pronouncing the flotation a great success. It is successful in that the airline is being sold off for half nothing. If that is a success, that is fine.

I must admit I already dealt in the shares. I believe I am obliged to do so when I speak on it. The people who really did well out of this are not the taxpayers but the extremely large institutions which beat down the Government to selling it for virtually nothing. In normal circumstances, it would have gone for far more money.

Let us not believe this was a success. Certainly, Aer Lingus is partially sold, but anything can be sold without problem if buyers exist at the bottom level and that is what happened. The only people who were successful in this were intermediaries such as brokers, bankers and advisers who received at least €30 million. The Government received exactly €200 million, which is a pittance in terms of what it has at present. It makes one wonder whether any future privatisation should take place. The temptation is to sell and not give a damn about the price. That has resulted in what happened today.