Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny yesterday accused the Government of hypocrisy, claiming it had broken its commitment to the Irish people by not protecting Shannon airport's connectivity to Heathrow, writes Gordon Deeganin Shannon.
He called on the Government to take its own initiative and move to convene an extraordinary general meeting of Aer Lingus.
In Shannon yesterday, Mr Kenny said the Government should use its 25 per cent shareholding in Aer Lingus to reverse the company's decision to end the Shannon-Heathrow service.
"The 25 per cent share was retained by Government for the purpose of protecting the integrity of the links to Heathrow and I want to see that honoured," he said. "My view is that the Government should stand by its word here and use its shareholding that it has for the purpose that it was intended."
Speaking to reporters prior to the Aer Lingus board decision to reject the call by Ryanair for an extraordinary general meeting (egm), Mr Kenny said: "I have no wish to interfere in the day-to-day running of Aer Lingus, but when the IPO [initial public offering] went through the Government made it perfectly clear that it was acquiring a 25 per cent share in Aer Lingus for the specific purpose of protecting Ireland's strategic interests.
"Those strategic interests were identified as Dublin, Cork and Shannon's Heathrow slots. In that sense, the Government has reneged on its own words, it has been hypocritical . . . This is presentation by deceit and downright lies.
"The Government has broken its commitment with the Irish people in not protecting the integrity of the Shannon-Heathrow slots," he claimed.
At the Park Inn Hotel where he met with Aer Lingus workers and representatives of the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance, MrKenny said: "This is not a local whinge because the principle being accepted of the transfer of slots to Belfast equally applies in the case of Cork or Dublin and that is a matter of national interest."
Claiming that Government was deliberately at odds with others on the issue, he added: "Ministers who have been decrying people in the midwest as being over-hyped about the consequences of this decision are simply wrong."
After meeting with representatives from the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA), the Fine Gael leader said: "They have confirmed that the discussions about an alternative to Aer Lingus, namely British Airways and BMI are simply at a very preliminary stage.
"While they have engaged in transferring route information, there is no decision imminent for some time in respect of bmi [British Midlands] or British Airways." Asked if he had concerns for the future of Aer Lingus if the Government acted to overrule a management decision to transfer the slots to Belfast, Mr Kenny said: "It should come as no surprise to Aer Lingus management that the Government should take action in terms of what Government policy is.
"It is written into the Articles of Association and Memorandum in relation to the proposal, lease, transfer and sale of slots. Management in Aer Lingus were well aware of that. Who has primacy here? Is Government to implement its own policy?"
The Atlantic Connectivity Alliance welcomed Mr Kenny's intervention.