www.Parctel.com: Ryanair, today (Friday, 27th April 2007) condemned Transport Minister Martin Cullen - the Minister for electronic voting machines - who last week subverted the independence of the Aviation Regulator by sending him a letter instructing him to double passenger charges at Dublin Airport, and prioritise DAA profits over passenger needs.
Ryanair called on Minister Cullen and Bertie Ahern's Government to put passenger needs before semi-state profits, by delivering the independent, competing second terminal which was promised by this Government in its 2002 "Agreed Programme for Government".
As a result of this Government's failure to deliver an independent second terminal, the DAA monopoly now plans to waste €800m building a second terminal which could and should be built for less than €200m. he Aviation Regulator has confirmed that if these plans proceed, passenger charges at Dublin Airport will double. Now Minister Cullen has again subverted the independence of the Aviation Regulator's office by instructing him to set charges which prioritise the profitability of Dublin Airport over the needs of the travelling public. In effect, Minister Cullen has now ordered the Aviation Regulator to double passenger charges at Dublin Airport.
Calling on Martin Cullen and this Government to honour their promise to deliver an independent competing second terminal, Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary said:
"This is typical of this Minister and this Government. First they waste €50m on electronic voting machines that don't work, now they allow the Dublin Airport Authority (who manage one of the worst airports in Europe) to build a second terminal which costs between four and eight times more than similar terminals elsewhere in Europe.
"As usual this Minister and this Government's solution is to force the public to pay for their mistakes. Passenger charges at Dublin Airport will double if the DAA monopoly's €800m plans go ahead.
"Having appointed an independent Aviation Regulator, this Minister has now instructed him to double charges at Dublin Airport because semi-state profits matter more than passenger needs. Competition can fix the shambles at Dublin Airport by improving services and reducing costs. Martin Cullen and the DAA's only solution is to double passenger charges.
"This latest instruction from Martin Cullen to double passenger charges at Dublin Airport again proves that we can't trust this Government on transport."
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