A prominent Fianna Fáil TD has declared his opposition to plans by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, to break up Aer Rianta.
Dublin North-Central deputy Mr Seán Haughey told union leaders in a letter that he was "totally opposed" to the break-up and had conveyed his views to Mr Brennan and the Taoiseach.
His letter was not enough, however, to save Fianna Fáil deputies from heavy criticism at a public meeting of Aer Rianta workers at Dublin airport yesterday on the future of the company.
All 22 TDs from six local constituencies were invited to attend the meeting to outline their views about Mr Brennan's plan to establish separate management entities for Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.
Three Labour TDs, one each from Fine Gael, the Green Party and the Socialist Party, and one Independent turned up.
However, none of the invited Fianna Fáil deputies, including Mr Haughey, attended.
An Aer Rianta worker-director, Mr Peter Dunne, accused locally-based Government TDs of giving workers in the company "the two fingers".
"The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Remember those Judases from Fianna Fáil when they come to your door," he said.
Mr Barry Nevin, chairman of SIPTU's civil aviation branch, which organised the meeting, said the workers had been snubbed "by the entire Fianna Fáil party".
"I say shame on Fianna Fáil, your ignorance will be rewarded, and we intend to dump Fianna Fáil at the next local and European elections."
The comment drew loud applause from workers, who attended the hour-long meeting at Dublin airport during their lunch break.
Other speakers from the floor questioned why, if the Government believed its plan to break up Aer Rianta was economically sound, none of its TDs was prepared to turn up and defend it.
All of the Opposition TDs present expressed strong opposition to the break-up, except Fine Gael's Mr Richard Bruton, who said his party was not against the principle of allowing the three airports to operate independently.
However, he said, the Government had failed to articulate its strategy in a number of respects, such as the implications of transferring Cork airport's debt to Dublin.
Mr Bruton's speech was politely received, but he was later criticised by a number of workers who claimed he was effectively supporting the Government's position.
Labour's transport spokeswoman, Ms Róisín Shortall, claimed the Government's plans were "ideologically driven" and workers had every right to be concerned.
Mr Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party said workers were entitled to fight the break up by every legitimate means at their disposal, including industrial action.
Labour's Mr Tommy Broughan and Mr Seán Ryan, the Green Party's Mr Trevor Sargent, and independent TD Mr Finian McGrath, also attended the meeting.
