RYANAIR MAY FACE FORMAL INQUIRY - The Guardian reports that the Irish Government could order an investigation into Ryanair after requesting details of dangerous landing approaches made by the airline.
Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, told the Guardian that any breach of safety regulations by an airline was a "matter of concern" and he had asked the Department of Transport to compile a briefing on the incidents.
Last month the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit issued a report on a "serious incident" involving a Ryanair plane attempting to land at Cork airport in June last year.
The captain failed to perform a standard procedure known as a "go-around" after aborting a landing and instead banked in a tight circle to try again minutes later, bringing the plane within 425 feet of the ground and alarming residents.
It was the fourth incident within two years, following a near-crash at Knock airport in March 2006, and troubled approaches at Rome airport in September 2005 and at Skavsta airport in Sweden in July 2004.
Mr Cullen who has asked for a "full briefing" added: "We obviously want the highest and safest standards applied right across the spectrum.
We would expect all airlines to operate to the highest secure standards in terms of passenger safety, and any breaches of those safety regulations is a matter of concern irrespective of who breaks them."
Asked in the article if the outcome of the report could lead to a formal investigation by the Irish Aviation Authority, Mr Cullen said: "Yes, it could be, but we will have to wait and see."
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OUTPUT IS 60% HIGHER IN THE EAST, SOUTH - The Irish Independent reports that the output of goods and services in the East and South of Ireland is almost 60% higher per person than in the rest of the country.
The large difference in output (GDP) between Ireland's two official EU regions is highlighted in new figures from Brussels covering all regions in the 27 member states.
They show that GDP per person in the southern and eastern part of the country is 156.5% of the EU-27 average, while in the less productive Border, Midland and Western region it comes in at almost precisely the EU average (100.1%).
However, the paper adds that as between regions, it does not take account of transfers from government. In Ireland's case, it is also exaggerated by the activities of high-tech foreign firms, and national income per person can be up to 20% less than GDP.
That would put the BMW area below the EU average, while the South and East may be close to 120% of the EU average, the paper says.
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WEST-LINK FIRM DENIED TAX INDEMNITY - The Irish Times reports that the Department of Finance has turned down a request from the private company that runs the West-Link toll bridge to indemnify it against a higher tax bill when the State buys the bridge for €600m.
The buy-out proposal comes before the Cabinet today, a day after the introduction of a ban on lorries with five axles or more from central Dublin intensified the already-severe traffic congestion on the bridge.
After a long negotiation with National Toll Roads (NTR), the Government is preparing to pay €50 million in each of the 12 years from 2008 until 2020 for possession of the bridge. The payments will be index-linked to inflation.
However, the Department of Finance ruled out giving any indemnity to NTR in respect of the taxation of its income from the bridge. NTR's income is currently taxed at the standard 12.5 per cent rate of corporation tax and it wanted an indemnity against a higher effective rate should the buy-out payments trigger any capital gains tax liability.
The bridge is likely to revert to the State in mid-2008. The Government hopes that the introduction of barrier-free tolling at that time and the completion of two new lanes on the M50 will relieve congestion on the West- Link.
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IRAN MASTERS CRUCIAL NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY - The Financial Times reports that Iran has mastered crucial nuclear technology since August and could be as little as six months away from being able to enrich uranium on an industrial scale, the United Nations' chief nuclear watchdog warned yesterday.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Tehran was overwhelmingly likely to miss a UN deadline on Wednesday to suspend enrichment, which can produce both nuclear fuel and weapons grade material.
The IAEA chief will meet Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, on Tuesday; a day later he will issue governments with a report on Iran's compliance with the UN's demands.
Mr ElBaradei said Iran had now acquired important technical know-how from running its pilot nuclear programme, and that there there was no going back. "You cannot bomb knowledge," he said.
