Alan Kelly (Labour)

I hope all Members look forward to my maiden speech.

I support Senator Fitzgerald's call for a discussion of the crisis in Shannon. This matter is something very close to my heart as I am from north Tipperary. I have spent hours upon hours with workers and the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance in recent months campaigning and lobbying on this issue. They have done tremendous work. Many of the people involved are outside the gates of Leinster House today and some of them have been brought into the Houses by me and my colleagues. We spent a number of hours discussing the issues with them. These people are dedicated to ensuring the connectivity to the mid-west through Shannon Airport is maintained. Everyone in the House should acknowledge that and respect the fact that these people are not going to give up, nor should they. If this decision is not reversed soon, we will be facing into a different type of debate because this will probably go into a legal quagmire based on the definitions in the memorandum and articles of association, especially on the terms of disposal. It is imperative the Government acts.

The long-term plan of the chief executive of Aer Lingus, Dermot Mannion, appears to be as follows. He has already outlined that long-haul is the way to go for Aer Lingus. It looks like he intends eventually to use the slots from Heathrow for long-haul and to take out the slots, not just in Shannon but also in Cork. We are well aware of this possibility, which is why it was imperative my colleagues in Cork met both the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance and the workers today.

As a party we have been aware of this possibility for a long time and we have debated the issue. We opposed the privatisation of Aer Lingus, not necessarily on philosophical or ideological grounds but because we believe in a policy of economic externality in certain scenarios where that is necessary for the greater good. In this case the greater good was that Aer Lingus was performing a function for the mid-west and the western seaboard that would not necessarily be the case if market forces alone were allowed to rule the roost.

We are probably understating not just the business impact of this decision but also its tourism impact. Essentially, tourism is also business. I know this area well as I am my party's spokesperson on tourism and I also worked at the coalface of tourism for nine years in Bord Fáilte and Fáilte Ireland. This decision will have a detrimental effect on tourism in the mid-west, in addition to the western seaboard and further afield. The tourism agencies are faced with the challenge of getting certain percentages of people to travel to parts of the country outside Dublin and the greater Dublin area and this will not be achievable if the Government does not intervene and use its 25.4% share to call an extraordinary general meeting and force the airline to reverse its decision.

We are at an important juncture as the decision on this matter will be very much influenced by the slot conference that will take place shortly. Slot conferences are of great importance to airlines as they decide where the slots will be in two six-month cycles. If this decision is not reversed or some action is not taken before the slot conference takes place, we will be faced with a rather more difficult issue.

At the beginning of this crisis the Government said it could not intervene. It is interesting to note the Government's language on this issue has changed. The current position is that it will not intervene. The reality is Government representatives, especially members of Fianna Fáil and other supporters of the Government, namely, the Green Party, the Progressive Democrats and certain Independents, some of whom are close to me in geographic terms, need to examine their consciences. They cannot be on the side of the angels all the time. One cannot be in Opposition and in Government on an issue. I echo the statement of my party colleague, Senator McCarthy. They either stand up, show what they are made of and support the Opposition in its efforts to reverse this decision or else they support what their good colleague, Senator Harris, stated today. I am delighted that what he said is on record because it is probably the true feeling of most people in Fianna Fáil on Aer Lingus, especially the Taoiseach.

Let us look at what is happening in terms of the new Belfast route for which approximately 136 or 146 bookings have been made. That is a reflection of the level of interest in it. In comparison, there are more than 1,000 bookings for Ryanair flights from Belfast to Heathrow. One can ask why there is a difference or why British Airways, a good and profitable airline, pulled out of this same route in 2001. People need to ask these questions to find an answer.

I call on Seanad Éireann to debate this issue. I would appreciate such a debate out of respect for a number of people who were outside the gates of Leinster House today. These people have told me they will be out of a job by next January or February. I would appreciate it if the proposed change to the Order of Business were agreed.