Sir, - You report that The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, told the Dβil that "Government policy is that both Aer Lingus and Shannon survive as viable entities going forward" (The Irish Times, October 11th).
Surely Government policy is irrelevant? The economic viability of Aer Lingus and Shannon is an objective matter: either costs exceed the revenue or they don't.
Is the Minister priming the public to expect the taxpayer to pay for protecting economic entities to the detriment of profitable entities? - Yours, etc.,
Fintan Clancy, Hampstead, London NW3.