In the past this was the case with Aer Lingus, but no longer, and one could still argue that an efficient public transport system run for the benefit of travellers rather than its staff . . . which we sadly don't have . . . could make sense.

But the notion that the Irish state should still own hotels harks back to the days of Soviet Russia when travellers were forced to stay in Intourist hotels because there was nothing else.

Arguably the Irish state needed to own hotels several decades ago when tourism was in its infancy, but that need has long since evaporated. The fact that that in 2006 some people are still trying to force a debate about whether or not Great Southern Hotels (GSH) should remain in state ownership is deeply depressing. Aside from parish pump politics, there is absolutely no reason for the state to continue to own a chain of hotels. In fact the chain should have been sold off many years ago.

What makes hotels different from microchip factories? The IT sector plays a huge role in this economy but not once did any government suggest opening up its own wafer fabrication plant.

As an industry, tourism is much more important to the Irish economy than many people realise.

Certainly the government needs to support the sector and allow it to flourish, but owning a chain of hotels is not the way to do it.

Siptu general secretary Joe O'Flynn told RTE radio last week that the union was opposed to the sell-off of the chain as GSH was a premium employer. Based on figures that have appeared in the media, he was right. Payroll and associated costs accounted for almost half of Great Southern's turnover in 2004. The company clearly has a pay structure from a bygone age. Hotels the world over have introduced multiskilled staff and many properties have also replaced old-fashioned frills such as porters. Wage bills have been slashed.

So Siptu's argument in part is that GSH should be kept in state ownership because the state hotels, which are losing money hand over fist, pay better than the private sector.

Siptu has its members' interests at heart but arguably those interests might have been better served if this group had been sold many years ago.

Yes, the workers might have been forced to accept changed work practices and smaller pay rises, but had GSH been sold 10 or 15 years ago the new owner could have reinvented the chain. As it stands, the future for two of the properties, most notably Rosslare and the Corrib Great Southern in Galway, looks bleak.

There has been much illinformed comment in the wake of Dublin Airport Authority's decision to sell Great Southern Hotels, but the most ludicrous contribution came from Galway West Labour TD Michael D Higgins. Selling the hotels would be "a disaster. . . for the entire tourism industry", he claimed. Perhaps in 1925, but not in 2006.