asked the Minister for Transport and Power what proposals have been submitted to him by Aer Lingus for the acquisition of jet aircraft for operation on their London-Dublin and Continental routes.
29.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Aer Lingus Jet Aircraft.
28.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power if the decision with regard to the purchase of jet aircraft for the London-Dublin and Continental air routes will be taken by him before he introduces the enabling legislation.
With the permission of An Ceann Comhairle, I propose that Questions Nos. 28 and 29 be taken together.
Proposals for the provision of capital for the acquisition of jet aircraft for use on their continental routes have been submitted to me by Aer Lingus. I do not consider that it would be in the public interest or in the interest of the Company if I were to disclose at this stage full details of the proposals made. If I approve the proposals new legislation will be required to provide the additional capital. While the provision of the capital is a matter for the Government to decide subject to the approval of the Oireachtas, the choice of aircraft is solely one for the Company.
I am glad the Minister is in touch with some of his Departments.
Could the Minister not indicate if all the major companies manufacturing jet aircraft have been considered on this occasion? Have their claims been looked at?
The Deputy may take if that Aer Lingus, with its record of success and its record in choosing the right kind of plane, will naturally have examined all the available types of aircraft for this particular type of journey.
Could the Minister indicate if Aer Lingus have considered the Trident aircraft, the only aircraft with an automatic safety landing device and the aircraft which BEA, their pool partners, are putting in the air between London and Dublin next April?
The Deputy may take it that the company have examined every relevant consideration in connection with this matter.
Could the Minister give a definite indication that they have considered this particular aircraft?
They have considered every type of aircraft but it would not be necessary for them to do so. They might decide that they had a specification for an aircraft of a particular kind and that they would know that certain types of aircraft would not conform with the specification they had predetermined in their own right. They are not obliged to examine every type of aircraft.
Their pool partners have decided on this aircraft and is it not in the interests of Aer Lingus that they should have as efficient an aircraft in the air as their pool partners?
We discussed with Aer Lingus all the matters involved in their decision.
Have you looked at the Trident? Has anybody looked at it?
We discussed the capital involved, the economics of operation and the effect of the cost on Aer Lingus, the effects on the tourist industry, particularly the tourist industry in the West of Ireland and the effect of this income on the country so that we might make quite certain that the type of aircraft chosen by them is the one that will produce the best results for the country. And we made quite certain, as in the case of other aircraft they have bought, that they will be chosen with due regard for safety and the most modern form of safety operations.
May I ask through you, a Cheann Comhairle, will the Minister answer just one simple question: have Aer Lingus interviewed or considered in any way the firm manufacturing the Trident aircraft?
Fine Gael want a safety landing device.
Fianna Fáil want a helicopter.
Deputy Esmonde is asking a very foolish question in suggesting that a company with a record of success like Aer Lingus would simply cast a blind eye upon a particular type of aircraft. The Deputy knows pretty well that it is not a question of Aer Lingus going looking for an aircraft but that a company with the record of Aer Lingus behind it, is besieged by the manufacturers of aircraft in every country——
(Interruptions.)
Answer the question. Can the Minister say that they have looked at the Trident?
Why is the Minister trying to quibble?
He always does.
(Interruptions.)
Order.
May I raise this question on the Adjournment?
I shall consider the matter and communicate with the Deputy.
Suppose we did buy them and sell them again?
Can you not say "yes" or "no" in half-an-hour?