Ryan2000 - I would have no problem with the airport being privatised since the clowns running the show at the moment are obviously not doing a good job. To be honest, anyone who can deliver us from a situation where we have an airport grossly mismanaged and management (the CAA, the DAA, and the minister for transport) seemingly deaf to criticism, postitive or otherwise, then ANY alternative is a net positive. Ideally, I would like to see an arrangement where the airport is owned by the municipality and operated for the benefit of the Munster region (ie. operating profitably, but with a greater emphasis on developing pax numbers and routes that simply trying to stiff every customer for the max profit possible). Not as insane as it sounds, as many continental airports operate on a similar basis.
As a mere passenger who used the airport a lot, I believe there is simply a total lack of interest in the running of the airport by the staff, and an obvious lack of credible management from Dublin and their minions in Cork.
Finally, under normal circumstances, I could not really give a hoot what happens with FR and EI merger wise, although the thought of a monopoly in the air coupled with the present monopoly on the ground is one that does scare me. We were there before, remember, when it used to cost us a few month's salary to get to London on a schedule that was limited to say the least!