Cabinet to discuss Aer Lingus bid today

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe is expected to brief his Cabinet colleagues today on the IAG bid for the Government's stake in Aer Lingus.

Minister Donohoe insists no decision has been made yet on whether to accept the deal.

Yesterday saw the biggest one-day fall in the airline's share values for 15 months amid uncertainty about the process.

Dublin Bureau chief with Bloomberg, Dara Doyle, has said that the reassurances about the future of Aer Lingus given by IAG last week may not have been enough.

"There's always a possibility that they could look to enhance those guarantees in a bid to try and get Government support over the line," he said.

"So that's still a possibility at this point, but all the signs are, and all the talk we've heard from Willie Walsh or from IAG, the little that we have heard, is that they will not proceed without Government support.

"So basically, we're into a while new game, if the Government does reject the offer."