Ryanair, Ireland’s largest airline, on 7 October condemned the inaction of Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and Tourism Minister Catherine Martin who continue to stand idly by while "the IAA unlawfully attempts to reduce traffic at Dublin Airport by over 1m passengers in Summer 2025".
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Ryanair believes these 2 Green Ministers should resign in light of their failure to transport and tourism.
"These Dublin cuts would be unnecessary if the Transport Minister issued Direction Letter to the IAA to approve all airline slot requests for Winter 2024 and Summer 2025, while the DAA’s planning application to Fingal CoCo to scrap the idiotic 2007 road traffic restriction takes its course," the airline said.
"Fingal, An Bord Pleanála and the IAA have already ignored this 2007 capacity restriction when they approved, in 2015, the construction of Dublin Airport’s 2nd runway which increased Dublin Airport’s capacity up to 60m passengers p.a."
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said: “Today’s ruling by the IAA is unlawful. The Dublin Airport cap is in breach of the EU right to freedom of movement, and is also in breach of the EU/US Open Skies Agreement.
"We have no doubt that this absurd 17 year old restriction (which was solely deigned to allay road traffic “concerns†which no longer exist) will be thrown out by the European Courts.
"However, if the Transport Minister had any back bone, he would issue a Direction letter to the IAA instructing them under Section 10 of the Aviation Act to approve additional Dublin Airport slot requests from all airlines.
"The fact that neither he, nor he colleague and Tourism Minister Catherine Martin, are willing to act by simply signing a letter and sending it to the IAA, is yet another indictment of the performance of the Green Party in Government.
"The Greens have a Transport Minister and a Tourism Minister who have now presided over the opening of a 2nd runway, but now want Irish connectivity and tourism to suffer a 1m traffic cut in Summer 2025 because they are unwilling to take action.
"Given Eamon Ryan’s failure to implement his own aviation policy, which is to deliver growth in traffic, connectivity, and jobs, he should now resign, as should Catherine Martin who has abjectly failed in her role as Tourism Minister.
"Ryanair has instructed its lawyers to immediately seek an injunction in the Irish High Court and the European Courts to stop this absurd self harm inflicted on Irish aviation and Irish tourism by 2 incompetent Green Ministers, who we hope will soon be thrown out of office.†■