Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I cannot say much more on the ARI issue. My preference has always been to acknowledge that the ARI headquarters should be in Shannon, which was the driving force behind the ARI success. I have expressed time and time again my wish that this is where it should remain. As a result of company law regulations, which are copperfastened by EU regulations — the Senator will be aware of this aspect having spent a long time as finance spokesperson in the Dáil — sharing out assets as dividends is forbidden unless there is a certain level of reserves to cover them. Aer Rianta International must remain in the ownership of the Dublin Airport authority because it is an asset that cannot be shared out as dividends until the reserves are at a sufficient level. The issue is complicated by that fact. I will be asking the boards to consider this urgently and to take into account my view that Shannon is where it should naturally fit. However, the law is the law and the boards must see how they can work that out. There are also other assets — the Great Southern Hotel Group and other subsidiaries hold assets internationally as well as nationally.

The retail aspect of Aer Rianta International is also important, as well as its international ownership of airports and so on. It has been pointed out many times, although it has nothing to do with this legislation, that the borrowing level of Aer Rianta is extraordinarily high. It is quite likely that any board will need to consider reducing borrowing. I am sure the current board has considered this. It will also need to secure funds for future development. I would be surprised if the board did not consider realising some assets to try to cut the debt. I emphasise that the company will need to do that whether it is one company or three.

Ownership of assets abroad has grown quite dramatically, representing hundreds of millions of euro in terms of capital gains. The issue for the board to consider now is whether it would make any sense to take the capital gains and re-invest them in our own airports. However, these are business decisions and I do not plan to lay any political decision-making on top of that.

Regarding SFADCo, I stated yesterday that the Tánaiste, Deputy Harney, is still in discussion with SFADCo and other interests in the region about how to proceed. Senators are aware that Enterprise Ireland is moving to Shannon. I am also aware of SFADCo's great work in the region. There may be a number of options the Tánaiste and SFADCo can consider. Again, matters are complicated by the fact that large parts of the land on which the properties involved are built are in the ownership of the Department of Transport, in the form of the airport authority. There is an issue about the ownership of the land and any rental income therefrom. SFADCo has done a good job for the country and I hope discussions with the Tánaiste come to a successful conclusion.