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Aer Lingus trio's investment plan
Friday, 2 July 2004
Three senior members of the Aer Lingus management team, including chief executive Willie Walsh, have asked Transport Minister Seamus Brennan to allow them to develop what they describe as an investment proposal for the company.
A statement from the three - Mr Walsh, chief financial officer Brian Dunne and chief operations officer Seamus Kearney - said they had also advised the Aer Lingus board of their request.
The statement also said they would 'fully comply and co-operate with any specific corporate governance procedures put in place.'
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Aer Lingus's has been transformed in the last couple of years into a profit-making low cost carrier.
Legislation brought in last year allows the Minister for Finance to sell his Aer Lingus shares but beyond that, no firm way forward has been agreed at the Cabinet table.
This evening, a spokesman for Transport Minister Seamus Brennan said the letter from Aer Lingus raised issues of corporate governance, potential conflicts of interest, and transparency, adding that it had raised the spectre of a management buy-out.
The biggest union at Aer Lingus, SIPTU, has repeated its opposition to any privatisation of the company.
SIPTU's national industrial secretary, Michael Halpenny, said that the first it had heard of plans by senior management to arrange a buy-out of the airline was in media reports this evening.
Mr Halpenny added that the commercial viability of Aer Lingus had been delivered by the sacrifices of the workforce.
... and it never happened!!! He got sacked!