I propose to take Questions Nos. 24 and 170 together.
The Deputy will appreciate that the day-to-day operations of the Aer Lingus group are the responsibility of the board and management of the group. However, my Department maintains close contact with Aer Lingus in order to ensure that the Department is kept informed of the commercial progress of the group. From time to time, the Aer Lingus group formally requests the approval of the shareholder to significant capital investments and other major business initiatives. There are no such formal requests currently under consideration by my Department.
The last such request was in connection with the acquisition of a fifth airbus A330 which I approved on 10 December 1996.
As I indicated to the House last month, Aer Lingus has only recently emerged from a financial crisis which, if it had not been satisfactorily addressed, would have led to the demise of the airline. A restructuring programme covering the period 1993-95, supported by Government equity of £175 million, was implemented which was designed to save the company in the short-term and to alter its commercial outlook in the longer term.
Successful implementation of the restructuring programme required radical changes in Aer Lingus. Substantial cost savings were achieved and changes in work practices and employment were implemented.
The achievement of the objectives of the restructuring programme resulted in the Aer Lingus group returning an operating profit of nearly £50 million, and a net profit in excess of £15 million, in the year ended 31 December 1995. I am aware that the Aer Lingus group performed satisfactorily in 1996.