An Aer Rianta move to bridge the gap between the Government and unions over the future of the State's airports was rejected last night by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan.
As SIPTU leaders last night postponed a decision after six hours of discussions on whether to go ahead with a strike at airports tomorrow, Mr Brennan turned down a suggestion by the Aer Rianta board which it thought could resolve the current impasse. SIPTU will reconvene its deliberations today.
The board, at a special meeting in Dublin, decided to propose to Mr Brennan that Aer Rianta and the Department of Transport should begin working on producing business plans for Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports as stand-alone entities. The lack of such plans is at the root of outstanding union concerns about the viability of the three airports, and the security of jobs, once Aer Rianta has been broken up.
In a statement, the Aer Rianta board said that, on the basis of the proposal it had made, tomorrow's two-hour stoppage at the three airports, due to begin at 8 a.m., should be deferred. Within a short time of receiving the proposal, Mr Brennan had rejected it. He said business plans for the three airports were already being implemented under the existing Aer Rianta structure.
However, the completion of plans for the three airports going forward must, in the final instance, remain the responsibility of the three new airport authorities, he said. "Such strategic plans can only be developed as the airports achieve full autonomy and have the freedom to develop independent plans and fresh strategies and initiatives."
It is understood that Mr Peter Dunne, an Aer Rianta worker-director, relayed the board's proposal to the later SIPTU meeting. Whether Mr Brennan's swift rejection of the idea was also made known to the meeting could not be established.
The two-hour stoppage was called by SIPTU with the specific aim of disrupting flights carrying EU justice ministers and officials to a meeting in Dublin. An Aer Rianta spokeswoman confirmed, however, that none of the ministers attending the event were due to fly in during the strike period.
The threatened strike was described as "a bit of madness" by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who called on workers to enter discussions with the Government on how pay and conditions could be secured after the break-up. "In most countries workers wouldn't get that privilege," he said.
In an interview with RTÉ, Mr Ahern said it was for the Government to set out its policy, as it done in the case of the planned break-up of Aer Rianta, before sitting down to consult with workers.
That had been done in this case and Mr Brennan could not go much further in the assurances he had provided. The Taoiseach also denied that an airport strike would embarrass the Government at a time it holds the EU presidency.
Such actions were common in states holding the presidency and they frequently happened at airports, he said. "I can't think of a less original idea." Aer Rianta was advising passengers to contact their airlines and turn up for flights as normal. Dublin Airport is due to handle about 55 in-bound, and a similar number of out-bound, flights, carrying up to 7,000 passengers, during the two-hour stoppage. Knock-on delays could be expected for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile, SIPTU's Dublin Bus branch executive will decide today whether to go ahead with a planned information meeting from 11 a.m. All Dublin Bus workers have been invited and disruption of services up to lunchtime would be likely.
