There will be "no secret deals of any sort" in relation to the sale of Aer Lingus and the whole process will be fully transparent, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has promised.
He said that if there was a sales process in September the public would be able to follow it "every step of the way". While the management of Aer Lingus had behaved "impeccably" in recent weeks, he said, it was important that whatever happened was clear to everyone. "There will be no secret deals of any sort or boardroom handshakes," he said.
He assured the members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport that there was nothing wrong in the Aer Lingus management team seeking permission to draw up an investment proposal.
Some members queried whether the management of the airline might have a potential conflict of interest while carrying out their duties because they were potential buyers. Mr Brennan said the acting chairman, Mr John Sharman, had examined that whole area and reported that there was no breach of Governance procedures.
Speaking at the same meeting, Aer Lingus chief executive Mr Willie Walsh said he had simply requested consent from Mr Brennan's Department to make an "investment proposal". He said he had not used the term "MBO" but it appeared in media coverage. He said none of the management team had any qualms about the way the issue was approached.
"I wish to state most clearly my firm view that no conflict of interest exists," he told members. He was responding to a question from Jim Glennon TD.
"We have acted totally above board. We have done nothing wrong," Mr Walsh said.
He was speaking flanked by the two other members of the management team, chief operations officer Mr Séamus Kearney and financial officer Mr Brian Dunne.
Earlier, Mr Brennan had told the meeting that he had no preference for the future of Aer Lingus, although he accepted the airline would need funding to renew its long-haul fleet. He said suggestions that State funding was no longer possible in airlines such as Aer Lingus were not correct.
"Under EU rules, the State can seek to invest as a normal shareholder in Aer Lingus when the company is performing well and making profits. In all likelihood, however, there would be opposition from other airlines alleging State aid and a likely investigation by the European Commission," he told the meeting.
Mr Walsh said it was generally accepted that the Government did not wish to invest in the airline. He said he did not favour State investment and was against a proposal for state funding to Italian carrier Alitalia.
He said a business plan being completed by the airline envisaged capital funding requirements of €600 million until the end of 2007. He said that the absence of investment - whether private or State - was "clearly an impediment" to the airline's development".
He also disclosed that trading for 2004 was holding up well and after-tax profits of approximately €95 million would be achieved.
