The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, is unlikely to sack two Aer Rianta directors who refuse to resign as requested. Colm Keena reports.

The decision to leave Ms Freda Hayes and Mr Liam Meade in situ will cause difficulties for Mr Brennan, who wants to make a number of new appointments to the Aer Rianta board next week.

Mr Brennan wants to appoint the three individuals who will chair the boards of the three new airport authorities he hopes will replace Aer Rianta in the next six months to a year. At present, there are only two vacancies on the Aer Rianta board.

The chairman of Aer Rianta, Mr Noel Hanlon, has declined to stand down following a request from Mr Brennan, as have Ms Hayes and Mr Meade.

Mr Brennan offered to appoint Ms Hayes and Mr Meade to, respectively, the boards of the companies set to run Cork and Shannon airports, if they stood down from Aer Rianta but this failed to sway the two directors.

Mr Brennan met the two directors during the week and asked them to consider the matter further, pointing out to them that his request was one from the Government.

It was made clear that if they did not stand down they would not be appointed to the new boards.

Ms Hayes and Mr Meade are understood to have provided Mr Brennan with commitments, in writing, to implement Government policy.

Sources said they have told the Mr Brennan that they opposed his plans to break up Aer Rianta when those plans were at proposal stage and that they felt they had a responsibility to do so as directors.

Their position was now different because the plan to break up Aer Rianta was Government policy, the directors are understood to have told Mr Brennan.

Apart from the chairmen, the names of the other directors who are to make up the three new non-statutory boards are not expected to be announced next week.