The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has accused the Ryanair boss, Michael O'Leary, of bullying tactics.
Mr Ahern was responding to an advertising campaign that has been run by the Ryanair Chief Executive. The campaign accuses Mr Ahern of inaction on the aviation sector.
The Taoiseach insisted he will not be bullied by Mr O'Leary, and added that whatever happened Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports, the important thing is that they would remain State-owned.
No turning back, insists Brennan
The Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, has said there will be no turning back from proposals to break up Aer Rianta.
Over the weekend, there had been reports of a split in the Cabinet involving the Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, over the proposals.
However, speaking to RTÉ News, Minister Brennan said he hoped to resolve what he termed ‘financial issues’ with the Department of Finance in the not too distant future.
Yesterday, the Tánaiste, Mary Harney, dismissed reports of a row with Mr McCreevy. However, she said there were technical issues and technical challenges involved in the process.
Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, the Tánaiste said we would see a bill ‘before the summer’.
On the same programme, the Labour party leader, Pat Rabbitte, claimed the Department of Finance was ‘appalled’ because the proposal would end up costing the taxpayer, and would break up a successful company.
