The reason we want the to remain seperate is because if they were one, then they'd have over 90% of the traffic to and from Ireland, they could charge what they liked. And to those that think "The Market" would come and save us, it simply wouldn't, NO ONE, competes against Ryanair, Aer Lingus are the only airline that have managed to do it.
We want two airlines serving us to make sure that there's competition, and that prices remain reasonable. We don't want to go back to the days where there was only one airline and they charged a fortune to get off the ISLAND. We are happy that the UK has intervened because our own politicians are too weak willed to say no to MOL. We need at least two airlines providing services to ensure that we get a reasonable deal. As Aer Lingus is the only airline capable of competing with Ryanair, we need them to stay seperate.
What is so hard about this for some people to grasp, a MONOPOLY is NEVER good for the consumers...