The judge who presides over the Commercial Court has raised concerns about the deficit in the Aer Lingus pension scheme.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly was speaking today as the airline sought permission to implement financial changes to enable payment of dividends to shareholders over the coming years.
Aer Lingus has sought a reduction in its capital of €500m to allow it to create sufficient distributable reserves to pay the dividends.
The matter was raised before Mr Justice Kelly today as the company needs court approval for the change.
However, Mr Justice Kelly said he had a concern about the €700m shortfall in the airline's pension fund. He said it was certainly a matter that the judge who will eventually hear the case would be concerned about - and would require assistance with - before the petition to reduce the capital would be approved.
He admitted the case to the commercial division of the High Court and it is expected to be raised there next month.
In a statement, Aer Lingus said that last November the board of the airline sought and received approval from shareholders to increase its distributable reserves by means of a capital reduction.
It said it is now in the process of seeking the High Court's approval for that capital reduction.
The company said that €57m of existing distributable reserves is sufficient for payment of three years of dividends in accordance with its new dividend policy announced in May. However, the proposed change would give it greater flexibility in excess of the limits currently imposed by the company's balance sheet.
It said the matter has been set down for hearing next month, and that all relevant issues will be addressed by the company when the hearing of the matter takes place.
Talks between Aer Lingus management and unions aimed at resolving the deficit issue broke down last week but are expected to resume within the next fortnight.
