Current Account noticed that the Department of Public Enterprise has this week advertised for consultants who will provide what is called a "process/fraud auditing service" for the upcoming flotation of Aer Lingus. One wonders why they need to bother.

Basically, the process/fraud auditing service has a variety of functions, but one of the most important is trying to ensure that multiple applications for shares are winkled out before the shares are finally allocated.

That's all grand when a heavily-hyped State company such as Eircom is being sold off to the public, but does anybody seriously believe that Aer Lingus is going to be the focus of loads of multiple share applications. Somehow, Current Account believes that the Aer Lingus float is one opportunity that the stags are going to spurn.

It's probably an opportunity that most of the population are also going to spurn unless the Government flogs the Aer Lingus shares at a bargain-basement price - to reflect the risks associated with investing in any flag-carrier airline.

If cut-price Ryanair is able to eject the likes of KLM from a key market index, not to mention other flag carriers such as SAS, then that is an indication where investors keen on airline exposure are going to direct their investment. There is no natural pent-up demand for privatised flag-carrier airlines like Aer Lingus. Multiple share applications - not a chance.