Business Opinion Cliff TaylorTomorrow the Cabinet is again due to tackle the thorny issue of the break-up of Aer Rianta. It is possible that the inability of Ministers to agree a way forward will delay things again.
The Government has mishandled the break-up plan and has taken its eye off the key goal - the plentiful provision of cheap air access. It has failed to put forward a thought-through analysis and rationale for the break-up, subjecting us to last-minute consultants' reports from both sides.
These have raised tricky issues which should have been solved before the plan ever saw the light of day, such as the difficulties of managing the Aer Rianta debt and the impact on the valuation of the different airports. This has led to divisions in Cabinet and the Government scrambling to come up with ad hoc solutions, such as the transfer of property assets held by Shannon Development to the newly constituted Shannon Airport.
Some conspiracy theorists believe that the Government has realised for some time that the break-up is not going to happen and that a disorderly retreat is under way.
The lack of rigour from Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, and his colleagues has let the trade unions make hay. They have been able to push the Government into a string of discussions and consultancy studies.
The campaign by the unions and Aer Rianta management has gained some momentum, pushing the Government into a corner and, ludicrously, putting the issue onto the agenda of talks on the second 18 months of the new national pay agreement. If there is a place in the partnership process for this issue it is not as a bargaining chip for pay negotiations.
But there is a need to step back and think for a minute. What is the goal? It is to ensure the supply of plentiful cheap air access to Ireland, primarily to boost tourism but also to help exporters and those travelling out of the State.
Competition is a key tool to achieve this but it must be properly structured. The priority in airports is the kind of competition that holds down costs for airlines while increasing the supply of facilities for these airlines and their passengers.
In this context some things are obvious. The Shannon stop-over must end and a second terminal at Dublin airport is urgently needed.
There may also be a case for breaking up Aer Rianta and creating a competitive model between the different airports - but only if it creates genuine competition, improving facilities and landing charges which encourage the opening of new routes.
Cheap air access is a key policy priority with huge wider benefits for the economy. The contribution of a broken-up Aer Rianta towards achieving this has yet to be demonstrated.
