IT’S the sort of secluded pad that could be converted into an idyllic private residence for a mega-rich individual.

A major international hotel chain is set to take over the running of the Great Southern Hotels in Ireland.

MEMBERS of the public were urged yesterday to tell Government parties they will vote against them unless they do a U-turn on Cork Airport’s €100 million debt.

IF Government commitment to balanced regional development has any meaning, it is crucial to counter-balance Dublin’s sprawl, now skewing development across the country.

The board of Great Southern Hotels Limited (GSH) has approved the sale of seven of its eight hotels as going concerns and the decision has been ratified by the board of Dublin Airport Authority.

A Galway businessman is reportedly set to buy three of the best-known hotels in the Great Southern Hotels Group.

SIPTU members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the Labour Court's recommendations concerning the sale of the Great Southern Hotels.

Great Southern Hotels says a substantial number of bids have been received for the proposed sale of the group by Dublin Airport Authority.

More than four fifths of SIPTU members in Great Southern Hotels have voted in favour of industrial action.

MORE THAN 700 Great Southern Hotels workers are to go on strike if the Labour Court fails on Wednesday to break the deadlock over employee entitlements, ahead of the sale of the chain.

CORK Airport will not get the debt-free status promised by former Transport Minister Seamus Brennan, but will receive some relief from the burden, the Irish Examiner has learned.

Staff at the Great Southern Hotels will ballot on industrial action next week.

Staff at Great Southern Hotels are threatening strike action unless agreement can be reached with the new owners on issues such as wages, pensions and job conditions.

GOVERNMENT policy on Cork airport makes a mockery of its supposed commitment to decentralisation and regional development.

Dozens of artworks in the hands of a former state-owned hotel chain belong to the people of Ireland, Arts Minister John O’Donoghue insisted tonight.

Galway city could lose one of its greatest landmarks through the sale of the Great Southern Hotels, it was claimed today.

Transport Minister Martin Cullen has expressed optimism about the sale of the Great Southern Hotels.

A marketing campaign for the sale of Great Southern Hotels starts today with advertisements in the property sections of the national media and international press.

THE €200 million sale of the Great Southern Hotels next month closes a chapter on the Irish hospitality industry that dates to 1845.

ENTERPRISE Minister Micheál Martin is not prepared to say who should pay the €160 million debt for Cork Airport's new terminal until a team of consultants give their view on the issue.

THE company brokering talks on the €160 million debt impasse between Cork and Dublin airports has been asked to withdraw from negotiations because of a conflict of interest.

CORK airport is a vital component for the economic future of the region.

WE fully support your editorial (Irish Examiner, February 13) which highlighted the fact that a €160 million (or an €80m) debt, if imposed, would cripple Cork airport for decades.

SIPTU has severely criticised plans to sell off the state-owned Great Southern Hotel Group.

The loss-making Great Southern Hotels are to be sold off by the state, it emerged tonight.

THE Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) has proposed increasing Dublin Airport charges for airlines by up to 40% per passenger.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has announced a 54% rise in profits in its financials results for 2004 today.

The future of the Great Southern Hotel group should be protected as the foundation stone of Irish tourism, it was claimed today.

The Dublin Airport Authority has reportedly warned that it may have to close the State-owned chain of Great Southern Hotels due to spiralling losses.

The Aer Rianta-owned Great Southern Hotels group is seeking a private sector partner to finance a €50 million-plus redevelopment of Parknasilla Hotel in County Kerry.

Irish airports operator Aer Rianta reported a €20.2m profit in 2003 amid reports that the proposed break-up of the company may be postponed.

IF Transport Minister Séamus Brennan harboured any illusions about the ease with which unions can disrupt the country’s transport system, they were rudely dispelled yesterday as staff at Aer Rianta, the state-owned company he plans to break up, effectively brought the country’s main airports to a halt for a brief but telling period.