Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Tánaiste for the answer. It is fair to say a decision has yet to be made on that matter. It was important to have a deal at Aer Lingus. Unions and employers have come together to make an agreement that I hope will save the airline and allow it to continue as an independent airline. I have a concern that the taxpayer might effectively subsidise bogus redundancy arrangements whereby someone resigns from a job, receives a redundancy payment for having done so and reapplies for the same or a similar job in the same organisation with different terms and conditions. The taxpayer is then hit for that. We talk about the race to the bottom in Ireland. Should unions and employers wish to negotiate a reduction in pay and conditions it is a matter for them. I would not like to see the taxpayer subsidising such an arrangement. Given the Tánaiste's answer, I have a concern that Aer Lingus employees would believe that, based on the assurances given by Aer Lingus and the unions, they will not be taxed on these redundancy payments. From the Tánaiste's answer, that seems uncertain in some cases at least.

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