There has been extensive briefing of the media over the proposed sale of Aer Lingus to IAG. So extensive has the briefing been that one would be forgiven for believing the Government is teeing up the situation for a decision eventually to sell the airline. I understand it was discussed at Cabinet today and that there will be a further meeting later this evening - the Taoiseach may clarify that. He might indicate whether he has addressed the concerns of the Labour seven who he may remember at the time objected to the sale of the remaining 25.1% share in Aer Lingus. I believe at the time Labour's Deputy Costello described the offer as bargain basement and the five-year guarantee as wholly inadequate. He made other very strong objections to the sale at the time.

We are opposed to the sale of Aer Lingus. We believe there are fundamental issues pertaining to connectivity and reduced competition if it goes ahead. Aer Lingus does not necessarily need to move into a larger company or to consolidate just to grow.

We know from Ryanair and EasyJet that small airlines can grow to extraordinary levels, with passenger numbers in Ryanair having grown from 11 million to 100 million in 14 plus years and in EasyJet to 60 million. There are options. The fundamental issue is connectivity with the regions, including Shannon and Cork airports, and the guaranteeing of slots which ultimately is the guarantor of connectivity. We know that if these airports lose connectivity, they will, essentially, be dealt a fatal blow. Perhaps the Taoiseach might tell the House if the Government has made a decision on the sale of its 25.1% shareholding in Aer Lingus; if he favours the sale of that shareholding to IAG and what guarantees he can give to the regions in terms of Heathrow Airport slots and ongoing long-term connectivity with the regions, particularly Shannon and Cork airports.

I thank the Deputy for his questions. I expect the Government to make a decision this evening that will be in the best interests of the country.

I am sorry-----

I expect the Government to make a decision this evening that will be in the best interests of the country. The Deputy will recall that some time ago, when an approach was made in respect of the possibility of the State selling its 25.1% shareholding in Aer Lingus, this was a matter that was not acceptable to the Government and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. I made the point at the time that this matter could not be considered unless cast iron guarantees were given. The Minister has spoken publicly on many occasions about the issues involved, including regional connectivity, employment, the airports involved, both transatlantic and European routes, slot disposal, brand image and name of the airline, the potential for growth and so on. All of these major issues were raised by him. The Government heard a presentation from him this morning. We have not yet concluded our deliberations on the matter, but we expect to do so this evening. As I said, we expect any decision made to be made in the interests of the country.

I do not think that is satisfactory in the sense that the media have been briefed extensively on the matter and it has, essentially, been teed up for sale. The unions have also been briefed, as has the Labour Party. Deputy Michael McNamara has said he has ongoing concerns. It seems the last to be briefed is Dáil Éireann. I asked the Taoiseach a simple question. Is he in favour of the sale of the 25.1% shareholding? The answer I have received is that the Government will make a decision tonight in the best interests of the people, but that is no answer.

The Taoiseach is testing the waters.

What is the Taoiseach's view? Does he believe it should be sold and will he tell the House if he will be recommending to the Cabinet this evening that it be sold? I disagree with him if that is his position. I would like to know what cast iron guarantees he can give to the regions in terms of connectivity. I have heard Senator Sean D. Barrett articulate very strong views on some of the key issues involved, including connectivity, consolidation and so on.

Where are the Labour 7?

The Fianna Fáil spokesperson, Deputy Timmy Dooley, has been very consistent on this issue. We are not being briefed to the same degree as others. The media have been briefed and are stating this is going to be great, that it is a good deal and so on. The Labour Party has been briefed, but there has been no briefing of Dáil Éireann or the transport committee. I suggest to the Taoiseach that that is not good enough. What is his view?

The Deputy is wrong; the Labour Party has not been briefed.

It seldom is.

I am sorry, Deputies, but we are over time.

Deputy Michael McNamara has said he was briefed.

Only one member of the Labour Party-----

Deputy Emmet Stagg is not doing his job as Whip.

I am sorry, but we are over time.

I apologise. Deputy Emmet Stagg has confirmed that Deputy Michael McNamara is special and, therefore, received a briefing.

He is very special.

Does the Taoiseach believe in the sale of the 25.1% shareholding? Is he recommending this to the Government - yes or no?

Does the Deputy believe in the sale of the remaining 75%?

There is a big difference between 75% and 100%.

I believe in making decisions in the best interests of the people and the country. As Deputy Micheál Martin is well aware from his own experience, it would be very wrong to comment here on a particular issue on which Government had not yet concluded its deliberations.

Tell the truth.

The Taoiseach is testing the waters before going back into session.

As I pointed out, when this matter came to prominence some months ago, the Government was not in a position to state it would be supportive, nor was the Minister. The issues outlined, in my view, included the giving of cast iron guarantees. A presentation was made to the Cabinet this morning based on the major issues to which I referred. Like any other issue, the Cabinet has not yet signed off on the matter. I am not in a position to give the final details-----

What is the Taoiseach's view?

My view is that the decision we make must be in the best interests of the people and the country.

That is why Deputy Enda Kenny is Taoiseach.

He is supposed to be.

I thank Deputy Barry Cowen. That is why I do not go around making comments when the Government has not signed off formally and properly on decisions.

Surely, the Taoiseach has his own opinion.

I expect the Government to conclude its deliberations on this matter this evening. As I said, any decision made will be in the best interests of the people and the country.

That is not acceptable. The Taoiseach has said he does not go around making comments when the Government has yet to make up its mind, but this is Leaders' Questions and he is being asked what his view is on this issue. A decision may be taken later this evening, which means that the Dáil will hear of the decision made through the media. What we have been hearing all day, in what are clearly orchestrated Government leaks, is the new commitments from IAG. It is obviously going out of its way to try to get the Government to sell off the State's stake and share in Aer Lingus. As far as I am aware, having listened to the media, the only concession - if one could call it such - available involves a stay of execution for the Heathrow Airport slots. Any assurance on this issue in terms of Irish access to routes from Heathrow Airport will only delay the inevitable loss of the slots. The company, if the Government sells off its stake in Aer Lingus, will sell off the slots some time in the future in favour of more profitable routes. That is the fig leaf the Government has been dangling in front of the people. The Taoiseach then comes into the House and refuses to give the Dáil his opinion on this issue.

Sinn Féin has been very consistent on the Aer Lingus issue. We opposed the original sell-off of this key strategic asset by a Fianna Fáil Government and will oppose any move by the Government to sell off the State's remaining 25.1% stakeholding. I have two questions for the Taoiseach. Was the issue of compulsory redundancies or outsourcing discussed at the Cabinet meeting this morning? The Taoiseach has said the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport brought a report to the Cabinet. Will he tell us what is the Minister's recommendation on this issue and, if not, why not?

As I said, the Government will continue to make decisions in the best interests of the country. This matter was discussed in the House on many occasions in the past few months. The issues raised are of great importance, including connectivity, growth, employment, REAs, the structure that will apply if a decision is made to dispose of the State's shareholding, slot disposal, the brand of Aer Lingus, the opportunities for further growth, both to Britain and beyond, including the United States, the importance of Cork, Shannon and Dublin airports in terms of their being the central airports in Ireland, the implications for Knock airport, from which Aer Lingus operates services, and services to Gatwick Airport. Account must also be taken of the potential for growth should such a sale take place. As I said previously, the Government will not tolerate any consideration of the disposal of the shareholding without particular and strong guarantees being secured in regard to the matters referred to. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport briefed the Cabinet this morning on a number of changes that had been presented since the matter was first discussed. The reason the decision has not yet been made is that the Cabinet has not yet concluded its deliberations.

I expect that will happen this evening. If that is so, I assume a statement will follow and that the matter will be discussed in the Dáil tomorrow, that is if the Government decides to conclude its deliberations on it this evening.

I asked the Taoiseach if the issues of compulsory redundancies or outsourcing were discussed at today's meeting, but he did not answer me. He comes out with the mantra that whatever decision the Government takes, it will be in the best interests of the country. That is the same excuse he used for giving billions of taxpayers' money to the bankers, for running down the health services and for all of the other terrible decisions he has taken.

We are a small island nation and our economy needs consistent and secure air access. The Government cannot jeopardise that by throwing away the links that Aer Lingus provides. Aer Lingus is vital to the economic future of Limerick, Belfast and Cork, as well as Dublin. The IAG proposes to do nothing to prevent the loss of an estimated 1,200 jobs, following any sell-up. I remind the Taoiseach that Iberia Airline shed 4,500 jobs after being taken over by IAG. I ask this question without any great hope of an answer, but will the Taoiseach confirm that any offers from the airline cannot guarantee long-term, into perpetuity, access for Irish routes from Heathrow? Does he accept therefore that the inevitable loss of connectivity will have severe social and economic repercussions? We should not have to read this in a press statement, so will he publish the full details of any proposals from IAG and will he commit to a Dáil debate on any Cabinet decision taken in respect of the future of Aer Lingus?

Please answer the question I asked about compulsory redundancies or outsourcing.

Aer Lingus has always made it clear that it uses direct labour where that is possible and as far as I can recall, there have been no compulsory redundancies in Aer Lingus. I pointed out that when the Cabinet was briefed this morning by the Minister, he referred to employment, to the REAs, to the question of compulsory redundancies and to all of the issues, such as employment, protection and growth of jobs, potential for employment of pilots, engineering and airline staff, connectivity, the issues raised by Deputy Martin, connectivity from Cork, Shannon and Dublin to Britain and Heathrow and to Gatwick in the case of Knock, connectivity to the United States and Europe, the opportunity that presents itself for serious growth and the changes that are being discussed in regard to the slots, their legality, their disposal, the brand image of the airline and the name of the airline. All of these matters were part of the briefing the Minister gave.

I have told Deputy Adams already that if the Government signs off on this evening on this decision, whatever decision it makes, all the details will be made public and we will have a normal full-scale debate in the House. This is a matter that should be discussed and the House should be able to comment on the decision made by the Government and the details of that. This is in everybody's interest. However, let me be clear on this. As I said to Deputy Martin, the Government will make its decision in the best interest of the people. That means analysing thoroughly all of the relevant issues. This is an important issue for Ireland as an island nation. We need greater connectivity to keep up our exports, our businesses and to support the huge numbers of people who will come to this country from many parts of the world in the time ahead.

When this process began, I made it perfectly clear on behalf of the Government that we could only consider it in the context of guarantees being given in respect of fundamentally important matters.