John Ellis (Fianna Fail)

Whoever wanted to disagree did so and we will allow them that privilege. None of us will dispute that, but we must consider what we can do now to get connectivity between Shannon and Heathrow back in place. The House should support the initiatives taken by the Shannon Airport Authority to seek a new partner. We must be clear, however, that the biggest advantage of the Government's 25% stake in Aer Lingus is that the Heathrow slots cannot be sold. They are probably worth more to some airlines than Aer Lingus is worth in its entirety.