Aer Lingus

4. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the engagement he has had with the management of a company (details supplied) regarding reports of increased cabin crew redundancies in Dublin and Cork; and the steps he is taking to protect jobs; and ensure meaningful consultation with workers and their representatives. [67207/26]

The Minister of State will recall that Aer Lingus announced substantial job cuts in July affecting hundreds of workers across the country. My office has been contacted by some of those affected workers facing redundancy. They are extremely concerned regarding the transparency of the restructuring at the airline, while others face significant changes to their current working arrangements. Can the Minister of State provide an update on his engagements with Aer Lingus since July concerning these job cuts? Will he outline what steps he is taking to protect jobs and ensure meaningful consultation with workers and their representatives?

I thank the Deputy for her question. My thoughts are with all workers facing potential redundancy. I understand this is a very difficult time for those involved. Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation in place to protect workers impacted by redundancy. The Redundancy Payments Act 1967, as amended, requires employers to pay a statutory redundancy payment to eligible employees who are being made redundant and have more than two years’ service. The rules governing collective redundancies are set out in the Protection of Employment Act 1977, as amended. The 1977 Act imposes a number of obligations on an employer that proposes a collective redundancy, which arise when certain thresholds are met. These include undertaking a 30-day information and consultation process with the employees’ representatives and notifying the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment of the proposed redundancies at least 30 days before they take effect. My Department received a notification of proposed collective redundancies from the company concerned on 16 July 2026. The Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, is the organisation which is mandated to secure compliance with employment rights legislation. Employees have the right to refer complaints to the WRC on a wide range of employment law breaches for adjudication and compensation where appropriate. This includes the right to make a complaint where they believe their employer has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Protection of Employment Act 1977.

I do not think that a hands-off approach is going to work in this case. Aer Lingus announced in July, as the Minister of State rightly said, that 500 jobs would be lost at the airline. That would impact pilots, cabin crew and ground staff. The company said this was due to the €34 million loss reported for the first six months of 2026. Aer Lingus, though, is a very successful company, having recorded operating profits of €282 million last year. The company is also expected to make an overall profit in 2026. Its parent company, IAG, enjoyed operating profits of over €5 billion in 2025. The workers in Dublin, Cork, Shannon and around the country who have contributed to that success deserve every effort to be made to secure their jobs or to protect their livelihoods. I understand that Aer Lingus is a commercial company, but that cannot be the end of the Government's responsibility. The Tánaiste told me on 16 July that he would ask the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, to come back to me on the Government's engagement with Aer Lingus.

As already stated, Ireland has a robust suite of employment law to protect workers who are impacted by this redundancy programme. That includes the right to statutory redundancy payments for eligible employees with more than two years' service. It also includes the right to a 30-day information and consultation process during the collective redundancy process and, indeed, a certain level of minimum notice prior to dismissal. These protections are in place. They are really important. Given the independence of those who manage these through the WRC, they are exercising their statutory function. If there are any issues, they have the right to refer complaints to the WRC on a wide range of employment law breaches. That is the first port of call. We have robust industrial relations mechanisms and it would not be appropriate for me, as Minister of State, to intervene in that process in light of the independence of the entities involved.

The Taoiseach told me that the Minister of State would follow up on this. Will the Minister of State confirm that he did so? What engagement has he had since the announcements were made and what concrete commitments have been secured from management? The Minister of State also needs to confirm that he will meet directly with the affected workers and representatives and ensure that Aer Lingus management engages in genuine consultation. The proposed redundancies at Aer Lingus are causing enormous uncertainty for workers and their families. These are skilled individuals who have contributed enormously to the airline over the years. They deserve transparency, fair treatment and a genuine opportunity to influence decisions affecting their livelihoods. Workers need more than assurances that this is a commercial matter. They need to know what concrete action the Government is taking to protect their jobs and rights. Will the Minister of State meet with the workers, see what the situation is and find out what can be done to protect them and their livelihoods? The Government has a responsibility here, notwithstanding what the Minister of State said about the mechanisms that are in place.

I answered that question previously. The legislation sets out clearly the requirements of what the consultation involves. The consultation process includes discussions around avoiding redundancies where possible, reducing the number of redundancies and mitigating the consequences for those affected. Employers are also required to provide employees' representatives with specific information relating to the process of redundancies and to facilitate meaningful engagement and transparency. Nothing has been communicated to me in regard to intervening. Ultimately, the obligation is that they fulfil their requirements in respect of certain matters. It should not be up to the political system to intervene. Indeed, it is a matter for the independent WRC to conduct its work professionally. That is appropriate in the here and now.

I am very disappointed with that answer.