FIANNA FAIL ARE DOWNRIGHT HYPOCRITICAL ON AER LINGUS - KENNY

Posted on January 28, 2015 12:14 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Labour TD Sean Kenny, and member of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, has slammed Fianna Fail for their stance on Aer Lingus.

"In short, Fianna Fáil are hypocrites when it comes to Aer Lingus. We are in the current situation because a previous Fianna Fail government decided to privatise the company."

"I find the commentary by current Fianna Fail Transport Spokesperson, Tommy Dooley, particularly difficult to stomach because he was a Senator during the period when both measures which allowed for Aer Lingus' privatisation were introduced into the Seanad by Fianna Fail."

"It also needs to be said that Micheal Martin was Minister for Health and then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for the Government that privatised Aer Lingus. As a result, their preaching on the current situation is downright hypocritical."

"The 2004 Aer Lingus Act was introduced by the then Fianna Fail-PD government and provided for the "holding, transfer, disposal, exchange and sale of shares" in Aer Lingus Group public limited company by the Minister for Finance."

"In July 2006, the Fianna Fail government introduced the following motion to the Oireachtas to privatise Aer Lingus - "pursuant to section 3(5) of the Aer Lingus Act 2004, approves the disposal of shares in Aer Lingus Group plc by the Minister for Finance in accordance with section 3(2) of the Aer Lingus Act 2004, the general principles of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 4 July 2006."

"I can't say I'm pleased at the prospect of the State selling its 25% shareholding and would prefer if it did not proceed. At the very minimum, we need to see binding and strictly adhered to legal guarantees on the landing slots at London Heathrow and London Gatwick airports in particular, and we also need to look at the other landing slots that Aer Lingus would have across the UK."

"We need to make sure that connectivity between Ireland and the UK, our largest trading partner, is maintained both for economic and cultural reasons."