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Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
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Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
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Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
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Aer Lingus share probe continues
Britain’s Office of Fair Trading has until June 18 to complete its investigation into Ryanair’s minority stake in Aer Lingus, after Ryanair failed to secure a Supreme Court order to halt the investigation.
By Vincent Ryan
If the office decides Ryanair’s shareholding results in a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition, then it will pass the matter on to the Competition Commission. The commission could ultimately force Ryanair to sell some or all of its 29.8% holding in Aer Lingus, if it deems the holding is likely to result in less competition.
Aer Lingus has welcomed the decision of the court to allow the investigation to go ahead. A spokesperson for the airline said the decision that the OFT was not out of time to investigate Ryanair’s stake in Aer Lingus was good for consumers and shareholders.
“The Supreme Court’s decision brings to an end Ryanair’s challenge to the validity of the OFT’s decision to commence its investigation into Ryanair’s minority shareholding in September 2010. The OFT can now proceed swiftly to complete its investigation into Ryanair’s shareholding which is contrary to the interests of consumers and the majority of Aer Lingus’s shareholders,” the airline’s spokesperson said.
Christoph Mueller, Aer Lingus chief executive, has previously described the situation as unacceptable and even anti-competitive.
“It is unacceptable that our principal competitor has been allowed to remain as a significant shareholder on our share register even though the European Commission blocked their hostile takeover almost five years ago. This intolerable situation cannot be allowed to continue,” he said.
Ryanair has said that there is no reason why it should be forced to sell any of its share in Aer Lingus. Its holding in the airline has previously been probed by the EU Competition Commission in 2007.
It found Ryanair has neither de facto or de jure control in Aer Lingus and concluded they could not be forced to sell down their holdings.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said the OFT probe would achieve little more than wasting money.
“Since Aer Lingus has spent six years ignoring Ryanair’s shareholding, this UK OFT investigation is yet another bureaucratic waste of UK taxpayers’ funds and resources,” he said.