Govt united on Aer Lingus decision - Dempsey

The Government will not be split over Aer Lingus’s controversial decision to end its valuable Shannon-Heathrow service, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said today.

Even though his Cabinet colleague, Defence Minister Willie O’Dea, initially insisted the cutback was wrong and should be reversed, Mr Dempsey said Fianna Fáil deputies were united.

Fine Gael have vowed to call a Dáil motion on the issue but Mr Dempsey insisted Government TDs would vote as one if a Dáil motion was tabled on the controversy.

“The Government has made its displeasure and disappointment known with Aer Lingus. We don’t regard it as being in line with Government policy in regional terms or aviation terms,” Mr Dempsey said.

“But I would not expect any Deputies or Senators in that region to be voting against or abstaining in relation to this matter.”

In the days after Aer Lingus bosses announced plans to axe Heathrow slots out of Shannon in favour of a new base at Belfast, Mr O’Dea, TD for Limerick-East, said everything would be done to persuade the airline to reinstate the service.

However, after the first Cabinet meeting after the summer break last week Mr O’Dea said he was pleased with the outcome.

Aer Lingus’s main rival, Ryanair, has also weighed into the controversy, calling for an extraordinary general meeting to debate the move.

But Mr Dempsey said Ryanair’s bid for the special meeting of shareholders was an unhelpful side-show. The low-cost carrier owns just under a third of Aer Lingus.

The Minister said he had been taking legal advice on the issue and added that under company law Aer Lingus was not obliged to call an EGM at the behest of shareholders.

Mr Dempsey said the Government had accepted Aer Lingus’s decision and was focused on finding a replacement airline for Shannon.

He added that the Government’s 25% stake in the airline was retained to ensure the airline did not dispose of Heathrow slots.

However, it has no power to prevent management transferring those valuable slots to different bases.