David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt that the first steps towards the privatisation of Aer Lingus were taken by the previous Government, when 74.9% of the stake in the company was sold off. This Government, and the Labour Party especially, opposed that move at the time - they opposed privatisation - yet they can come in today and stand over the selling off of the remaining stake. By selling off the remaining stake, we are fully privatising Aer Lingus. We are surrendering our national airline to a foreign company with so-called legal guarantees which have no standing whatsoever. Again, this Government is asking the Irish people to buy a pig in a poke. We were asked to do exactly the same with Irish Water by the same Government, and on three occasions they had to come back with their tail between their legs with three different Bills to get the same process through because of the mistakes they made. I think we are making a monumental mistake by selling off this stake.

Aer Lingus is a profitable company. It is a vital body which maintains connectivity for Ireland internationally. As a small island nation, for us to be without a national airline, or at least to have no democratic control of that airline, is wrong. There will be concern about the Heathrow slots, because the CEO of IAG is on record as saying that the airline is desperate for extra slots to serve the very profitable and expanding Asian and South American markets from Heathrow. That is the reality. Despite whatever commitments the Government says it has received from IAG, everybody knows they are not worth the paper they are written on. Fine Gael and the Labour Party know it, and we on this side of the House and the Irish people know it.The Government has, again, sold off a very profitable State-owned company, which is in our national interest to maintain, own and manage for the people, to a foreign company to do with it what it pleases. It is an absolute insult to tell people this is about job creation when everybody knows that when airline companies are consolidated, job losses ensue. It has happened in other airlines taken over by the same company, so please do not try to pull the wool over people's eyes and pretend this is in the interests of the Irish people and is about creating jobs when the Senators sitting over there know-----