The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has a long hot summer ahead of him. The Cabinet's decision this week to back his plan for the break-up of Aer Rianta may be a sweet victory but he will have little time to savour it.
The prospect of Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports grinding to a halt as the holiday season gets into full swing is now quite real. Next Monday may be a taste of things to come as the unions plan to call general meetings at all three airports, which will entail work stoppages and disruption.
That said, Mr Brennan appears confident that he can win the unions round to his way of thinking. He has offered them strong representation on the boards of the three new airport authorities, which should give them the same influence they currently enjoy at Aer Rianta. In addition he has stressed that no changes to terms and conditions of employment are envisaged.
The Minister has also been careful to present his plan as an alternative to private-sector involvement in the three airports. He specifically identified this as one of the alternatives that was rejected. Mr Brennan has also refused to be drawn at this stage on the future sale of the airports, saying it is not on the agenda. The exact corporate status of the new authorities, and thus ownership of the underlying assets, has also been fudged.
But, by the same token, he has put the "for sale" flag up over the Great Southern hotel chain and the company's Shannon-based international operations.
Even if Mr Brennan does succeed in getting the Aer Rianta workers on board, there is no guarantee that his initiative will deliver cheaper and more convenient air travel, which is how it must ultimately be judged. He is embracing a rather tarnished and somewhat unsophisticated brand of economic thinking which holds that all competition is good and always delivers for consumers.
The Minister indulged himself in a certain amount of hyperbole yesterday, talking about "passion", "competitive tensions" and an "unrestricted quest for new routes" that will galvanise the new airport authorities.
But this vision of a brave new dawn in the Irish airports sector seems a little fanciful, unless the Minister delivers on his promise to install high-calibre individuals on the boards of the new authorities. To this end the dissembling by Mr Brennan as to the role in the new companies of the current Aer Rianta board members - who have made no secret of their opposition to his plan - is disconcerting.
It is hard to see Mr Hanlon, the Aer Rianta chairman, and his colleagues implementing Mr Brennan's vision with much enthusiasm. When and if he wins over the Aer Rianta staff, the Minister must get out his new broom.