Shane Ross (Independent)

They will be expected to deliver on a matter in respect of which they cannot. I feel sorry in advance for the unfortunate people who will be appointed to this board, because they will be expected to take orders directly from the Minister on non-commercial grounds. They will be unable to so do and the Government will be unable to deliver. While it wishes to surmount this problem by stating its intention to appoint two people who somehow will prevent it from happening in the future, it will not be averted.

Were the Government really to desire to so do — I do not suggest it should — while it could not interfere with this decision today or tomorrow, it could certainly remove the board. There is no reason to prevent it from getting together with the unions and others to remove the board at the next annual general meeting. However, the Government will not do this.

Allow me to contrast the extraordinary inaction and feeble excuses provided by the Government on this issue with its incredible activity when Ryanair decided it wanted to take over Aer Lingus. No one could have been faster on the road to Europe than the Fianna Fáil Ministers who stated this should never happen. It used its 25% shareholding ruthlessly when it was politically practical. In this case, however, when the Government finds it impossible to deliver, it states there is nothing it can do legally. This problem arises when one is unable to make up one's mind whether to privatise.