Rose Conway-Walsh demands action after Aer Lingus job cuts
Rose Conway-Walsh pressed the Tánaiste over Aer Lingus's announcement that up to 500 jobs could be cut, calling for urgent government engagement and guarantees for workers' rights. The proposed losses affect head office staff and flight crews despite Aer Lingus reporting operating profits of £282 million in 2025 and IAG reporting £5 billion.
Rose Conway-Walsh set out the scale of the announcement and its human impact: up to 500 roles at Aer Lingus could be lost, affecting families across the country. She highlighted the contrast between reported company profits and the decision to pursue significant redundancies.
The speaker demanded firm guarantees that workers' rights will be protected and asked whether the Minister for Enterprise has engaged with Aer Lingus to minimise job losses. She urged the government to meet with unions to secure full and fair redundancy packages and transparency for affected staff.
Conway-Walsh called for urgent engagement and statutory redundancy reforms to prevent unnecessary hardship. She pressed for commitments that redundancy processes will be fair and transparent while seeking assurances that the number of job losses will be reduced.
The Tánaiste acknowledged the announcement and said Aer Lingus will begin consultation with employees and representatives, and that the company expects the impact could be around 500 employees. The Tánaiste noted planned network changes including the cessation of some long-haul routes and said Minister Burke would respond further on government engagement.
What happened
Rose Conway-Walsh set out the scale of the announcement and its human impact: up to 500 roles at Aer Lingus could be lost, affecting families across the country. She highlighted the contrast between reported company profits and the decision to pursue significant redundancies.
Impact on workers
The speaker demanded firm guarantees that workers' rights will be protected and asked whether the Minister for Enterprise has engaged with Aer Lingus to minimise job losses. She urged the government to meet with unions to secure full and fair redundancy packages and transparency for affected staff.
Questions to government
Conway-Walsh called for urgent engagement and statutory redundancy reforms to prevent unnecessary hardship. She pressed for commitments that redundancy processes will be fair and transparent while seeking assurances that the number of job losses will be reduced.
Government response
The Tánaiste acknowledged the announcement and said Aer Lingus will begin consultation with employees and representatives, and that the company expects the impact could be around 500 employees. The Tánaiste noted planned network changes including the cessation of some long-haul routes and said Minister Burke would respond further on government engagement.
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Transcript
Tánaiste, this morning workers at Aer Lingus woke up to the devastating news that up to 500 jobs would be cut at the airline, impacting both staff at head office and flight crews. By all measures, Aer Lingus is a very profitable company, operating profits of £282 million in 2025, while the parent company, IAG, has operating profits of £5 billion. Yet 500 families in North Dublin, Cork, Dunedin and across the country now face the possibility of losing their livelihoods. We urgently need firm guarantees that workers' rights will be protected. So I ask you, Tánaiste, what engagement has the Minister for Enterprise had with Aer Lingus to minimise the number of jobs that are going to be lost? And will the government meet with unions, with IALPA and with Forsa and other unions, to ensure that impacted workers received full and fair redundancy packages and that we have full transparency, while also committing to wider statutory redundancy reforms? We need the number of jobs minimised here. We need urgent engagement by the government. Thanks very much to Deputy Conway-Welsh. The government is aware of the recent announcement by Aer Lingus that they are to undertake some network and organisational changes as a result of what they describe as a sustained, challenging operational environment. They have stated they will begin consultation with employees and their representatives, which I think is really important and is really urgent, but they have said that they expect the impact could potentially see around 500 employees leave the companies. I also note that the network changes do include the cessation of a number of long-haul routes and some short-haul routes commencing towards the end of the summer. The company has said that any customers impacted will be contacted directly. This is a commercial matter for the company, but some of the issues you have raised are relevant matters for the government, and I am fond of you raising them. I will let Minister Burke come back to you.