Dáil votes 74-51 in favour of Aer Lingus sale

Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports backed the sale of Aer Lingus as being good for Ireland, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said in a strong defence of the sale of the national airline.

Mr Kenny said the sale would result in job creation, new routes and the Minister for Finance would have a veto over the sale of the valuable Heathrow slots under the deal with IAG, owners of British Airways and Iberian. Labour Party backbencher Michael McNamara voted against the Government in a Dáil motion on the sale of Aer Lingus.

The motion was passed by 74 votes to 51. The Clare TD will automatically lose the party whip.

He told the Dáil that while much had been done to meet Labour Party concerns over the sale of the national airline to IAG, there were outstanding issues. “There are questions I have…questions unanswered, and, in that context, I am not prepared to gamble with what I believe is the key to the economic development of all of this state,’’ he added.

He next year would mark the centenary of the Rising and there would be talk of developing all of the country equally.

“Connectivity is key, particularly connectivity to the mid-west,’’ he added. “I don’t have confidence in the guarantees, at the moment as they stand.’’

The Clare TD said one of the key factors in attracting American companies to Shannon was its connectivity to the US and Shannon.

"Shannon airport was established to be the driver of growth in the mid-west and it had achieved that up to the time Fianna Fáil in its wisdom decided to abandon it in favour of Dublin,'' he added.

“Nevertheless, for a long period in its history, it was the driver of growth in the mid-west and it is again, largely because of decisions this Government has taken and which I have supported.’’

Mr McNamara said while the protections in the sale agreement were welcome, those around the Dáil a lot longer than him would recall that a similar golden or B share scenario was put in place to give the Government a veto over the sale of the sugar division when Greencore was privatised.

A few years later, doubts were cast on that agreement in a European Court of Justice ruling, he added.

Dublin North Labour TD Brendan Ryan said that. with party colleagues, he had played a key role in ensuring the initial offer from IAG was unacceptable to the Government.

“Once a bid was made for Aer Lingus, we had to respond to the world as it was, not the world Sinn Féin or the far left pretended it was,’’ he added.

Mr Ryan said Aer Lingus was not a commercial semi-State company like the ESB and Ervia.

“It is a private company with shareholders, of which the State is one,’’ he added. “The company has always been subject to a takeover bid.’’

Mr Ryan said under the deal the Minister for Finance would have the ability to block any proposed disposal by Aer Lingus of any of its Heathrow slots indefinitely.

“This provides stronger protection for the State than the current arrangement, under which the State cannot prevent a reallocation, reassignment or cessation of use of the Heathrow airports slots,’’ he added.

He said the Minister would also be able to block a proposal by Aer Lingus to change its company name, brand and head office location and place of incorporation from Ireland.

“This commitment is unlimited in time and provides protection that, again, is not available under the current arrangement,’’ he added.

Aer Lingus jobs

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Joan Burton has again said Aer Lingus jobs will be protected in the sale of the Government’s stake in the airline.

She told the Dáil on Thursday Aer Lingus had been involved in “significant recruitment’’ in the recent past.

“This is an airline that is going to expand,’’ she said.

She added the company was committed to a regular and structured interaction with the trade unions relating to terms and conditions of employees.

Ms Burton said the House would shortly consider legislation on registered employment agreements.

She said the airline customer had been forgotten in the debate on the issue.

Ms Burton said the key issue in a report by consultants Nyras was that it referred to business abroad. "So it has no impact or inference for employment in Aer Lingus in Ireland,'' she added.

She said Nyras, as she understood it, was a consultancy company engaged by Aer Lingus to carry out confidential analysis of the airline’s cost structure.

The report was an internal document in a private company and it would not be common for Government departments and the Cabinet to receive a copy, she added.

The Tánaiste was replying to Fianna Fáil's Timmy Dooley and Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald at Opposition Leaders' Questions.

Earlier, Mr Kenny was critical of comments that the decision to sell was rushed through the Dáil, saying the Government has held a two-day debate with 12 hours of discussion.