Tánaiste Mary Harney has said that having competition at Dublin airport is her primary concern in relation to proposals for a second terminal at the facility.
Her comments followed a discussion at Cabinet of a written update from Minister for Transport Martin Cullen on aviation, including the current status of proposals for the second terminal, a partial privatisation of Aer Lingus and the status of the Shannon stopover.
Mr Cullen is expected to bring proposals in relation to both the airport and Aer Lingus for approval to Cabinet towards the end of April.
It is believed that the current proposals being examined by Mr Cullen in relation to the second terminal would involve the terminal being owned and operated by the successor to Aer Rianta, the Dublin Airport Authority.
The Tánaiste is understood to be strongly in favour of an independently owned and operated terminal, although she did indicate yesterday afternoon to the Dáil that the ownership of the terminal was not the primary concern.
Answering questions from Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, she said the "only issues that are important here are capacity and competition".
"I share Deputy Kenny's view that who may own such a facility is not the issue. It's rather competition which will drive efficiency for the consumer and capacity, so that the long delays that are being experienced by too many passengers can be eliminated," she said.
It is believed there are a number of outstanding issues that still have to be dealt with in relation to both the Aer Lingus privatisation and the second terminal before consensus can be reached within Government on both issues, and which would also be acceptable to the trade unions.
The Minister for Transport and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern met Ictu president David Begg and Siptu vice-president Jack O'Connor last month to discuss both issues, and Mr Cullen held a further meeting with senior union officials last week.
Mr O'Connor has previously written to Mr Ahern expressing Siptu's support for a second terminal to be owned and operated by the current Dublin Airport Authority.
Officials at the Department of Transport also believe this is feasible and that the Aviation Regulator could guarantee low landing charges at a second terminal. Under the current regulations, any charges would have to be approved by the regulator.