Thank you, Deputy. I met Commissioner Van Miert and after that meeting I made it clear that the position is as follows. The question of equity for Aer Lingus can only be looked at in the context of the comprehensive proposals and plans being put in place and it is not possible to deal with the question of equity in isolation from the recovery proposals being implemented by the airline. For that reason no formal application has been submitted as of yet because we must have — and I am sure the Deputy agrees with me — the detailed recovery proposals in place, because of our wider responsibilities to the taxpayer. We must know the level of equity that should be put into Aer Lingus before we will be in a position to put the full package to the European Commission.
I assure Deputy Noonan that at political and official levels I and the officials of my Department have been in touch with the relevant directorates and we have spoken to the relevant Commissioners. We are ensuring that the proposal we make will be in line with the State Aid Regulations that apply. We have had full discussions with the EC officials and they are very happy with the approach we are taking. We have told them that we will be in touch as soon as the full recovery proposals are to hand so that a decision on the level of equity for Aer Lingus can be made by the Government. That is the position. It was suggested that there was a lack of duty on our part but quite the opposite is the case. I have met with three Commissioners on this issue and I have sent officials to the Commission to ensure that when we make our proposals they will be dealt with expeditiously.
The Deputy will be aware that such an issue has never come before an Irish Government and I want to make sure that when the submissions are made, they will be totally in accord with EC precedent. The Deputy need have no worries whatsoever. Let me assure him that in no way am I misleading the House on this or any other issue.
