Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the record level of applications to the Central Applications Office for third level courses which are to begin this autumn.

I wish all the applicants every good fortune. This will be an exciting period in their lives. We are certainly excitedly looking forward to seeing them all when they enter as freshmen in the autumn. Think of that optimism and beware the prophets of gloom who seem to surround this, describing it as an ordeal. This is an exciting period in any young person's life and we look forward to seeing them.

I also welcome the moves by the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, to reduce the cost of drugs in this country. Those costs are excessive, particularly by comparison with Spain. In wishing the Minister every success in his endeavours, I also commend Ms Susan Mitchell and Mr. Pat Kenny, the journalist and broadcaster, who have made this an issue for a long time.

On the issue of the British Airways takeover of Aer Lingus, I attended a meeting organised by the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, Deputy John O'Mahony, this morning. It emerged at that meeting that the British regions are completely neglected by British Airways. There is one route only - into Heathrow. All of the other routes have had to be developed by other airlines, including easyJet and Ryanair. That also applies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There is only one route in each case - George Best Belfast City Airport to Heathrow and Dublin Airport to Heathrow. At Derry Airport, Belfast International Airport, Knock airport and the airports at Cork, Kerry, Shannon and at Dublin for most of the day, one will not see British Airways flights. How British Airways has come to be seen as the saviour of Irish aviation when it has shown so little interest in the market heretofore is quite remarkable.

The committee received a note from the Secretary General of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport who did not give evidence at the meeting. The note states:

The Irish Takeover Panel has ruled that Aer Lingus is now in an offer period and under Irish market abuse law, the relevant officials are deemed to have access to inside information on this issue and are obliged to ensure that such information remains confidential. In these circumstances, it is not considered appropriate for officials to attend the committee at this point.

The application of jurisdiction of the Irish Stock Exchange to this Parliament is unacceptable in my view.