On RTE's "Questions and Answers" programme last week, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, sought to compare Aer Lingus with airlines which have gone out of business. He even tried to claim that the company's financial position was somewhat fragile. Will the Taoiseach clarify or correct that impression because the reality is that the company is robust, thanks mainly to the efforts and sacrifices of staff and management down the years, which has been acknowledged by the Taoiseach? As the Taoiseach knows, Aer Lingus has shown substantial profits since 1995. The company predicts profits of more than €95 million this year and has accumulated profits of €248 million since 2002. Will the Taoiseach clarify that the airline is financially healthy?

In that context, what is the Government's position in the face of measures to prepare Aer Lingus for privatisation? Does the Taoiseach accept that an island economy is vulnerable enough without losing its national airline? Moreover, has he had time to reflect on the experience in New Zealand where the Government sold Air New Zealand in 1988 for NZ $660 million and had to rescue it from bankruptcy in 2000 at a cost of almost NZ $2 billion? After its privatisation, schedules were cut back, aircraft were diverted to larger markets in Australia and south east Asia and tourism was decimated. Does the Taoiseach want to risk repeating that experience and will the Government make its position clear so management of the airline has some guidance as to where the Government wants to go?

The management of Aer Lingus is in regular contact and discussions with the Minister so it is very clear on the issue. The management, trades unions and workers at all levels in Aer Lingus have done a very good job in recent years in spite of the climate faced by the aviation industry. In order to deal with the difficult circumstances, they had to take appropriate action to turn the airline around, bring it to profitability and try to sustain it. There is no argument about the issue and they should be congratulated for their efforts, which I have done on previous occasions.

The airline has stated that its capital base for future acquisitions needs to be increased. A sum of €95 million will not even buy an aeroplane and the company wants to extend its routes and build formal and informal strategic links with other carriers from the Persian Gulf, Asia and elsewhere in order to build Aer Lingus for the future so that it continues to survive in ten or 20 years' time, regardless of how it is constituted. It is not a question of selling it. It is a question of trying to form strategic alliances in whatever arrangements are to be discussed, to ensure that it is healthy, unlike airlines elsewhere that have bitten the dust savagely due to the prevailing circumstances.

That is the issue to be addressed. It is not a question of what anybody is doing wrong, it is about what we can do right to sustain, maintain and grow the airline into the future. That is the challenge and it is best to comprehend and address it by doing what is necessary at this stage, rather than waiting until we hit an aviation downturn again, which is almost inevitable. We have had two in the past ten years. It is not the fault of anyone in Aer Lingus but it happens for one reason or another, whether it is because of terrorism or economic issues. Currently, it is due to rising fuel prices which are forcing airlines to bear astronomical costs. The airlines had based their costs on crude oil selling at $30 to $32 a barrel, whereas now it has risen to $50 plus. No one in the airline industry here created those difficulties but such issues must be addressed in terms of future development.

I was interested to hear the Taoiseach say, although it is obvious, that €95 million would not buy the kind of aeroplanes Aer Lingus is seeking. I acknowledge, however, that the Taoiseach probably knows a bit more about buying aeroplanes than I do.

The Green Party only buys bicycles.

Recently the House passed the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, which will allow the ESB to borrow in the order of €6 billion in the new market situation in which the company finds itself. In the context of borrowings, what difference does the Taoiseach see between the ESB and Aer Lingus? Is it not the case that if either company requires capital — as has been mentioned, Aer Lingus certainly requires capital, although a business plan would be useful to see exactly how much — the Government will be prepared to underwrite that borrowing? If the Government is considering it for the ESB, can the same not be done for Aer Lingus? Before Aer Lingus proceeds with such severe outsourcing, will the Government insist that a full business plan is provided, rather than have a three-year strategy, which effectively deals with outsourcing and ceasing activities. Will the House and Aer Lingus management be told what Government policy concerns Aer Lingus in the long term, rather than waiting for the company's management to tell the Government what its job is?

The Deputy's time has concluded.

Will the Government treat Aer Lingus in the same way as it treats the ESB, by underwriting borrowing if it needs it?

To the best of my knowledge, under the terms of the recent Electricity (Amendment) Bill, the Government is not underwriting the borrowing. The ESB is in a very different position. It is a strong, cash-rich company.

Like Aer Lingus.

It has enormous resources and reserves to deal with these circumstances and, therefore, the two companies are not the same. Discussions on Aer Lingus have been going on for a long time to try to assist the company. We have been trying to bring the company through its problems for the past 11 or 12 years, since it went into difficulties in the 1992-93 period. That policy has been working well and is to the credit of the staff, including the various managers, as well as people on the board. We are trying to maintain and sustain Aer Lingus so that it will not be like practically all the other airlines around the world, which have either gone out of business or have been fundamentally restructured. If we are to keep a strong Aer Lingus we will have to examine its means of obtaining capital and resources to do the things it wants to do, such as expanding its services. We have to examine new sources of revenue for Aer Lingus to deal with these issues. That is the Government's policy.