Report on future of Aer Lingus ready, says Cullen

TRANSPORT Minister Martin Cullen yesterday confirmed he has received the consultants’ report on strategic investment for Aer Lingus.

The report, commissioned from Goldman Sachs, is expected to play a crucial role in informing the Government when it comes to make its decision on whether or not Aer Lingus remains wholly in public ownership.

However, the Cabinet will not discuss the contents of the report until Taoiseach Bertie Ahern returns from his nine-day tour of South-East Asia and the Middle East. The first discussion by ministers on the future of the State airline is now likely to take place next Wednesday week.