Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has said Shannon Airport will have certainty about its future direction by Easter.
Speaking to a Chamber of Commerce business breakfast in Limerick, Mr Varadkar said the status quo was not working for Shannon and that had to change.
The airport lost two million passengers between 2007 and last year.
The minister said he intends appointing an interim board to Shannon in the coming weeks whose job it will be to deliver a business plan and see if it can attract outside investment to the airport.
He said he will be distributing a consultant's report about the airport to the various Government departments by next week and he will make a decision about the future of Shannon by Easter.
Mr Varadkar also said some part of Shannon's debt would have to be written down or perhaps written off altogether if it is to be sustainable into the future.
