The Government is seeking written promises from top managers in Aer Lingus not to advance their proposal to take the State airline private before a Cabinet decision on the ownership of the company.

The board of Aer Lingus has also requested two of the three executives - chief executive Mr Willie Walsh and chief financial officer Mr Brian Dunne - to attend a board meeting tomorrow to discuss their request to develop an management buyout proposal.

The Cabinet moved yesterday to create a subcommittee to consider the buyout approach from Mr Walsh, but the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, stressed in the Dáil that the Government had not decided to privatise the airline.

Mr Ahern will lead the subcommittee, whose other members are the Tánaiste, Ms Harney; the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy; the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan; and the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue.

The subcommittee will hold its first meeting before the end of next week.

While Mr Brennan said he expected a decision in about two months, he added that the Government would not allow anyone else to set the pace in the process.

He said Mr Walsh had initially informed the Department of Transport on June 24th that he wanted to lead a bid for the airline and confirmed his intentions last Friday. Mr Walsh wants permission from the Government to develop a bid in co-operation with Mr Dunne and the airline's chief operations officer, Mr Séamus Kearney.

While Ms Harney has left open the possibility that she would support an approach from Mr Walsh and said that all proposals should be considered, the Taoiseach's official spokeswoman declined to outline the stance of Mr Ahern.

However, Mr Brennan confirmed yesterday he was in favour of the principle of allowing Mr Walsh to take part in a transparent process to privatise the airline and said he assumed that was the Government's position too.

Aer Lingus management has met Cabinet and Department representatives several times this year to establish when a decision would be made on the airline's future.

A memo on the issue had been due to go to Cabinet within the last two months, but was delayed when airline chairman Mr Tom Mulcahy resigned suddenly.

While emphasising that the Government had been considering the future ownership of the airline for some time, Mr Brennan said any such process should be fully transparent.

"We took the view that we would consider the request from management in the context of the need for openness, for full transparency, for the avoidance of conflicts of interest, with consultation with stakeholders," he said.

"They would have to get in the queue and make their bids like anybody else," said the Minister of the MBO team. "You could not do a deal or make an arrangement with management on their own."

The Minister added: "The Government decision today makes it quite clear that they are not permitted to develop their proposal any further from this moment."

He said written assurances from Mr Walsh and his colleagues would ensure there was no conflict of interest between their current role and their desire to take the company private.

"One of the things the Cabinet subcommittee will have to consider is the appropriateness of senior management remaining inside were they to be involved in such a process."

Mr Brennan said his primary concern was to guard against any conflict of interest and protect the interests of the Government as the dominant shareholder in the airline.