27 May 2015
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Sinn Féin Cork North Central TD Jonathan O’Brien has described the sale of the state’s remaining 25% share in Aer Lingus as “a terrible decision for the people of Ireland.”
In light of the government’s obvious privatisation agenda, the Sinn Féin Education Spokesperson also raised concerns regarding the future ownership of water services in this state.
Speaking from Leinster House today, Deputy O’Brien said;
“The Fine Gael and Labour government has made what is another terrible decision for the people of Ireland. The sale of the state’s remaining share in Aer Lingus to IAG will have ramifications for Ireland’s connectivity into the future and I have grave concerns for thousands of jobs at the airline.
“Almost 5000 jobs were shed when IAG acquired the Spanish airline Iberia. There is a very real fear that they could replicate this approach with Aer Lingus.
“The sale also marks a complete surrender by the Labour Party on the issue and shows that resistance that they initially put up to the sale was both false and PR driven. Joan Burton’s party implements a policy platform with two main planks – attacking ordinary people and a privatisation agenda which involves the sale of state the assets.
“You would have to question the point of the Labour Party being in government given that they have completely capitulated to the right-wing agenda of their Fine Gael masters. They can no longer describe themselves as a party of the left.
“This government has said that it would never sell-off our water infrastructure and services to private operators. I think that those claims ring hollow when you consider what has unfolded over the last twenty-four hours.”