Aer Rianta, which is due to be split up by the Government in 2004, is facing uncertainty over who its new chief executive is going to be next month.The current chief executive is Mr John Burke, but his five-year contract expires at the end of the year.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has said the decision about what happens in the New Year is strictly for the company's board. The position currently commands a €315,000 remuneration package.
The company's board, chaired by Mr Noel Hanlon, is due to hold a meeting shortly and the issue is likely to surface. The company essentially has two options: to extend Mr Burke's contract for a few months until the new airport boards take over or appoint a new chief executive on an interim or permanent basis.
Mr Brennan and his Department are believed to favour extending Mr Burke's contract because it would be the least disruptive solution.
Mr Burke is president of the international organisation the Airports Council International (Europe) and holds this unpaid position until June.
It is believed some officials favour Mr Burke remaining as Aer Rianta chief executive until this international post expires, although the Minister has refused to get involved in the issue and his Department has declined to comment.
Mr Hanlon may decide, along with the board, to appoint a new chief executive. If that happens most sources believe the current deputy chief executive, Ms Margaret Sweeney, would be most likely to succeed, although an outside contender would be Mr Ray Gray, director (finance).
There is also the possibility of a candidate coming from outside.
If Ms Sweeney was successful, she would be one of the few women to hold the chief executive's position in a State-owned company.
The decision will ultimately have to be made by the nine-member board of Aer Rianta, which includes three worker-directors: Mr Peter Dunne, Mr Cecil Brett and Mr Pat Fitzgerald. The other members are: Mr Hanlon; Mr Burke; Ms Freda Hayes; Mr Liam Meade; Mr Pat Shanahan and Mr Joe Gantly.
The Department of Transport recently confirmed that legislation to break up Aer Rianta would not go through the Oireachtas until the first half of next year.
When the legislation is passed, the old board will be dissolved and replaced by three autonomous boards, one each for Shannon, Cork and Dublin.
