Government intervention needed to protect aviation sector
Labour Party TD for Dublin Fingal, Duncan Smith, has called on airline companies such as Aer Lingus to do everything they can to retain jobs and urgent Government intervention.
Deputy Smith said:
“The news today that Aer Lingus are in talks with unions to cut over 900 jobs at the company is extremely concerning. This follows speculation from Ryanair that job losses of over 3,000 people could also happen in the next year.
“This is an extremely bleak outlook for our aviation sector, most of which is based in my constituency of Dublin Fingal.
“The overall goal here has to be to retain as many jobs in our aviation sector as possible. We are a small open economy, we need a vibrant aviation sector to help encourage trade and tourism.
“My thoughts today are with the workers who face uncertainty. The Government need to extend the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme for industries that are going to be key for getting us back on track such as Aer Lingus.
“It is clear that the government need to take urgent action to address the potential torrent of job losses that could occur at Dublin Airport between Aer Lingus and Ryanair.
“Aer Lingus and Ryanair must do everything they can to keep people in their jobs at this time. Keeping staff in reserves where they can must be an option.
“We all need to find a way to work through this crisis but also to look beyond it as well. We need to send signal that Ireland is open for business and our aviation sector has a massive role to play in that.”