February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
However, the SIPTU trade union which represents around 2,000 of the airline’s 3600 staff is opposed to the sale, and disrupted flights at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports in an official work stoppage for over an hour to hold staff protest meetings just before the parliamentary debate.
The vote was to allow the government to proceed with the sale, with fine details yet to be worked out. However, an initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the Dublin and London stock exchanges is expected to take place by September, before the Irish parliament returns from its summer break, possibly to avoid further acrimonious political debate.
The state will retain 25.1 percent of the airline after flotation, which is expected to value the airline at between