Independent assessors with no vested interest should be employed immediately to advise the Oireachtas on the justification of removing Aer Lingus from State ownership.

This was stated by Independent TD and MEP Marian Harkin when she criticised what she described as the unseemly haste with which the Government was rushing Aer Lingus to the stock market.  “The Taoiseach without providing an opportunity for serious consideration of an alternative future for Aer Lingus could, as early as Tuesday next, ensure a cabinet decision in favour of an Aer Lingus flotation”, she said.  It was an extraordinary arrogance that the Oireachtas  was not even permitted to have a debate on the disposal of a vital national strategic asset before a cabinet decision was taken, Marian Harkin said.

There were alternative forms of ownership which could be considered for Aer Lingus, she said, but they were, for some unrevealed reasons, not being seriously examined. “If Aer Lingus is to be such an attractive proposition for the hardnosed market why would a restructured company not be a logical investment opportunity for the National Treasury Management Agency”, she said.

The strategic value of Aer Lingus in public ownership could be maintained by the development of a structure which would enable it to be successful and profitable into the future, she said.  “The least that should be done is that the Oireachtas would have a detailed debate on the issue and that the report of the Joint Committee on Transport is published  before any irrevocable Government decision is taken”, Marian Harkin proposed.