The chief executive of the group trying to buy Aer Lingus will not be allowed to have inside influence on any decision to sell the airline, according to the Transport Minister.
Paschal Donohoe has said Willie Walsh will not have any role in the decision about the future of the airline.
Mr Walsh, who is the chief executive of the IAG group, is also the chairman of a state committee which is meant to offer advice about the future of state assets.
Minister Paschal Donohoe says controls are in place to make sure there is no conflict of interest:
“I’m absolutely confident that the New Era Group, who are part of this advisory group that my department is chairing, are performing their work in an absolutely impartial and independent manner that.
“That would meet the standards that you or anybody else would seek to put for them,” Mr Donohoe added.
Representatives from the government and IAG will meet this afternoon to discuss the airline group's bid for Aer Lingus.
It's the first formal engagement between the sides since the proposed deal worth €1.4 billion was put forward.
It's not yet known whether IAG Chief Executive, and former head of Aer Lingus Willie Walsh, will attend today's meeting.
The company behind a bid to buy Aer Lingus has said it will guarantee that the airline's slots in London Heathrow Airport will not be sold. International Consolidated Airlines Group, IAG, says it will also guarantee to use those slots for Irish routes for at least five years after any takeover.
It issued a statement on Monday after Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he would not consider any sale unless he had a guarantee about the future of the Irish routes to Heathrow. The group is offering “legally-binding commitments”.
These include: a guarantee that the Heathrow slots cannot be sold, even to fellow IAG airlines, without the government’s approval; the Aer Lingus company name, head office location and palce of incorporation will all remain in the Republic of Ireland, and will need government agreement to move; and to continue operating a service to Ireland from those Heathrow slots for the next five years.
IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said in a statement that Aer Lingus would continue as its own brand, and that Dublin Airport could gain business by taking on more of the group's transatlantic traffic.
