60 FG representatives demand Dáil recall

Over 60 Fine Gael public representatives from Cork to Roscommon yesterday demanded an immediate recall of the Dáil to address the Aer Lingus decision to end the Shannon-Heathrow route.

In an agreed statement drawn up after a two-hour meeting behind closed doors at the Park Inn Hotel at Shannon airport, the chairman of the FG parliamentary party, Tom Hayes TD, described the situation as "a national crisis". He urged Government to use its 25 per cent shareholding to rescind the Aer Lingus decision to transfer the Shannon slots to Belfast.

After the meeting, Limerick East TD Kieran O'Donnell said "Government representatives in the mid-west are speaking out of both sides of their mouth on the issue. It is now up to them to join in solidarity with us to vote against the Government to reverse this decision."

He was joined by other TDs at the meeting, including Denis Naughten, Michael Ring, Padraig McCormack, Simon Coveney, Michael Noonan, Olwyn Enright, Pat Breen, Joe Carey, Dan Neville, Tom Sheahan, Frank Feighan and Paul Connaughton.

Senators and MEPS including Jim Higgins and Colm Burke also attended, along with councillors from 10 counties.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Noonan accepted it was unlikely that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern would recall the Dáil.

"He has been running from the issue for the last three weeks, and I presume he will continue to run from the issue."

He said the Government at an egm voting against the decision by Aer Lingus management to transfer the slots to Belfast held no threat to Aer Lingus.

"The Government said that it was going in there to protect strategic interests by holding on to 25 per cent.

"Everybody who bought shares knew that that was the position, so if the Government carries out their mandate and questions the strategic decision by Aer Lingus I can't see what threat to the company that is.

"That is the position outlined in the prospectus that was offered to the shareholder."

Cork South Central TD Simon Coveney said: "The Government's interest in Aer Lingus of course is to support a commercial, competitive profit-driven company, but is also has a responsibility towards a much broader bottom line than that, which is to ensure that when strategy is being determined by Aer Lingus, if it is against national or regional interests that the Government has a responsibility to influence those decisions for the betterment of the country."

He added: "I make no apologies for saying that I was in favour of the privatisation of Aer Lingus and still am, but there was a safeguard in place at the time which should now be used in order to protect the region here as a whole."