Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand the Leader’s position but it is regrettable that Senator Barrett cannot be here. He is tied up in the banking inquiry and he simply cannot leave it. It is deeply regrettable that we will not hear his voice today.I speak today on behalf of those who cannot speak in this House, namely, the Aer Lingus staff who suffered severe cuts to their pensions as a result of the actions of this Government.

I am not interested in political point-scoring but it is shocking that there are so few Members on the Government side present in the House to defend the sale of Aer Lingus. I appreciate their having remained in the House throughout the entire debate. It is outrageous that there are many Senators wandering around Leinster House today hailing this as a great deal for Ireland, yet they have not presented in the House for this debate. In fairness, Senators Cummins, O'Neill, Mullins and Bacik have contributed to this debate.

If there were a free vote in Dáil Éireann today, how many Government backbenchers would actually support the sale of Aer Lingus? As in the case of Irish Shipping, Aer Lingus will slip off into the memories of people, and within seven years, in the context of the much talked about guarantees, most people will have forgotten all about Aer Lingus. The Government speaks of the sale of this organisation being about jobs. Following completion of the sale, 50 jobs are to be cut from Aer Lingus. That is not saving jobs. The remainder of the deal is platitudes and promises.

On Aer Lingus the brand, I recently met some soldiers who have served in the Lebanon. They told me that as they finished their tour of duty and reached a hill overlooking Tel Aviv, where they would see the Aer Lingus jets on the tarmac waiting to take them home, they knew they were safe and would soon be home. Most of us in this House and most of our families and relations have travelled all over the world. There is nothing like arriving at an airport and seeing the shamrock. I do not believe for one minute that IAG will retain the brand for any longer than it has to.

I recently heard that one of the members of the board of Aer Lingus will walk away with a €4.5 million payment. How many pensions would that have topped up? Other members will walk away with up to €750,000 each. It is outrageous that people will be allowed to walk away with that amount of money. Will the Government publish the data on the amount, to the penny, each member of the board or management will be paid following completion of this deal? How much of the sale price will be diverted to the pensioners, those who built up the brand that is being sold at a giveaway, knock-down price? Senator Bacik said - I am sure that, as a member of the Labour Party, it was the right thing to say - that she will fight to ensure some of that money is diverted back to the pensioners. I would like a report to the House on precisely how much of that money will be diverted to the pensioners.

We never learn in this country. All one sees when one drives around this country is broken railway lines that once served places such as west Clare, Connemara and so on. All these lines were ripped up because it was the economic thing to do at the time. The tram system in Dublin because ripped up because it was the economic thing to do at the time. We are now spending billions to replace it.

If Senator Barrett were here, he would speak about the irony of the British courts ruling on competition between two Irish-based companies. There is something terribly wrong about that. He would also speak about the way IAG serviced the regional airports in the UK and how terrible that was. Unfortunately, I do not have the expertise of Senator Barrett in the area of transport economics. He is the only voice I have heard in all this that is truly independent and has no axe to grind with anyone. We are told that the Government's influence, in terms of the 25.1% shareholding, was limited. I am sure that someone advised the Government of suppression in any relationship of the minor shareholder. It had influence. From what I hear, the golden share is not worth the paper its written on. Where does that leave us?

On the Heathrow Airport slots, as pointed out by one of my colleagues, the sale price does not even cover the value of the Heathrow slots. Let us not for one minute think the Heathrow slots will remain in Ireland's ownership; they will not. As far as I am concerned, today is a bad day for Ireland and the workers of Aer Lingus and a terrible day for the Aer Lingus pensioners. I hope and pray that the one person with the backbone to stop this, Michael O'Leary, refuses point blank to divest himself of his shareholding and the Ryanair shareholding in Aer Lingus, thus leaving us with what we have.

I thank Senators Cummins and Bacik for representing the Government in this debate.