The sharks in the financial markets are pushing for the early privatisation of Aer Lingus. The Government took a decision in principle last year that it would privatise the company and leave an island nation without a publicly-owned air transport vehicle, which many see as a strategic interest.

What is the Government's position? Will it shamefully hand the national airline and its staff to transnational corporations whose only agenda is the maximisation of profit? The Taoiseach must tell us today. Aer Lingus staff, their families and the communities around the airport dependent on this employment are increasingly anxious about Government plans and are being left in the dark.

The Government has the option of investing in Aer Lingus as there is no barrier to such public investment. It could develop it as a vibrant transport vehicle, with staff brought to the heart of the matter. We need very clear answers to the following questions. Does the Taoiseach intend going ahead with the privatisation? If so, how will the Government do so — by a trade sale, by flotation on the stock exchange or by other means? When will the Taoiseach put this process into effect? What is the deadline and the schedule of the Government? The Taoiseach should be very clear and precise in his answers.

It is my new year's resolution to try to be precise.

Hear, hear.

I confirm to Deputy Higgins that the Government will stick by the announcement of last summer concerning the comprehensive growth plan for Irish aviation that puts the aviation sector on a clear, upward growth path. We will provide new external capital to Aer Lingus and we will examine how this can be best done. This will mean that part of Aer Lingus will be sold to allow the airline to expand. We will continue with the plans for the terminal and the other initiatives necessary for Dublin Airport to deal with 30 million passengers and to allow for the development, securing and safeguarding of Aer Lingus into the future.

The Taoiseach has broken his new year's resolution on his first day back. I asked him a number of precise questions. Judging by newspaper articles I read recently, the staff at the National Museum got more information out of Clonycavan man, and the poor man was dead for 2,000 years in a bog, than the Taoiseach has provided today. The Taoiseach is very much alive in front of me. I might call him neo-liberal man.

The Union Bank of Switzerland, one of the advisers on the future of Aer Lingus, stated the Government should move to privatise within six months. Recently, in a national newspaper, a spokesman for the Minister for Transport, Deputy Martin Cullen, was asked if the Government was prepared to follow the advisers' recommendations to conduct the initial public offering in the short term. Deputy Cullen's spokesman replied that Ministers were working to that agenda: "If the market conditions are right, the answer is yes". Will the Taoiseach confirm the Minister and the Government are working to a short-term privatisation and that it may happen this summer? I ask the Taoiseach to be clear as he knows the answers.

Is it appropriate that top management in Aer Lingus, which is owned by the community and the taxpayers, should be blatantly urging privatisation when they are likely to become millionaires within a few years of the process? Is there not a despicable conflict of interest here? Should they not be prohibited from doing so? I put my original questions again and ask the Taoiseach to provide answers very clearly.

Will Deputy Higgins listen to the answers?

We have stated time and time again that the Government will maintain a strategic interest in Aer Lingus. We have stated we will allow an equity injection which means a sale of a proportion of Aer Lingus. This will be decided following the consultant's advice in the area. The purpose of this is to prevent what happened in 1993 and some four or five years ago, when Aer Lingus nearly went down the tubes. Deputy Higgins must stop trying to close the national airline.

The Government could provide equity.

There is not an airline in Eastern Europe that has continued with that old hat.

All the garlands went to the Taoiseach's head. He should talk sense.

We want to secure Aer Lingus, secure the staff, secure the jobs and help to develop the airline, including new long haul routes to Thailand, Singapore and Bahrain. If Deputy Higgins thinks the ancient ways of rusty aircraft will keep the airline going for the future he is off his head.

No answers.