The Government is pressing ahead with plans to complete legislation on the break-up of Aer Rianta next week, despite continued resistance from the Fianna Fáil backbenches. Arthur Beesley, Political Reporter, reports.
As senior Government figures made efforts yesterday to mollify dissenting TDs, it emerged that some 19 of 23 speakers at a Fianna Fáil meeting on Tuesday had expressed reservations about the break-up plan or the speed with which the legislation is being processed.
Such concerns, which have renewed tension with the PDs, will surface again next Monday when the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party holds a special meeting in Leinster House to discuss its poor performance in the European and local elections.
Despite doubts about the feasibility of the timetable for passing the legislation, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, is determined to complete the process before the summer recess at the end of next week.
Fianna Fáil TDs said they understood Mr Brennan was lobbying hard yesterday to ensure that there would be no deviation from that timetable after a Cabinet briefing on the backbench reservations next Tuesday by the the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
Such efforts appeared to have paid off last night after spokeswomen for both the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said the Government still planned to have the legislation through the Dáil before the recess.
But reservations about the Bill were expressed again yesterday when one Fianna Fail TD described the rushing of the legislation of such complexity as "insane". "This is the sort of Bill that you'd expect a heavy amount of drafting and redrafting on," he said.
"A lot of people are speculating that few if anybody in the Cabinet other than the sponsoring Minister and the PDs are in favour of this. Seamus is very much out on a limb on this."
However, the PD's transport spokesman, Senator Tom Morrissey, rejected the claims. "Some TDs feel that some senior ministers are on their side but my understanding is that the Cabinet has taken a decision," he said.
"Some backbenchers are probably operating under the impression that their comments are being taken more seriously than they might be."
A spokesman for Mr Brennan said the Bill would be subject to the same average length of debate as most other legislation.
There was a recognition among senior sources that the timetable for a debate was extremely tight and could be upset if the Seanad voted for amendments to the legislation.
The next phase of the process takes place today when the committee stage debate on the State Airports Bill begins. An eight-hour debate is scheduled