Cabinet to consider airports report

The Cabinet will be asked to consider the part-floatation of Aer Rianta at its weekly meeting today when the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, submits a long-awaited report on the future of the State-owned airports authority.

While the report, by London consultants Warburg Dillon Read, is believed to favour the floatation of up to 49 per cent of the company, it is understood that the Government will not make a final decision for another two weeks.

Ms O'Rourke is believed to favour privatising about 30 per cent of the company. The Minister is also believed to favour Aer Rianta retaining ownership of its three airports, at least in the medium term.

The consultants are also likely to recommend the development of civilian airport facilities at the Aer Corps headquarters in Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, in west Co Dublin.

Warburg is also considered likely to seek the sale of Aer Rianta's eight Great Southern Hotels to the private sector.

Aer Rianta's board favours a 49 per cent initial public offering on the stock exchange, with the Government retaining a controlling 51 per cent stake. The company has ruled out using additional borrowings to pay for its investment programme, arguing that this would leave it highly leveraged with increased financial risk.

The trade union Mandate, Aer Rianta's second largest, said yesterday that it was opposed to suggestions that the company should sell off either of its airports at Shannon or Cork. "We are insisting, and will continue to insist, that Cork, Dublin and Shannon airports must remain in the same structure," a Mandate national official, Mr Brendan Archbold, said.