Ryanair replies to John O’Donoghue’s ‘Internet Petition’

Ryanair, Kerry Airport’s favourite airline, today (11th Nov) responded to John “Expenses” O’Donoghue’s internet petition against the reduction in Ryanair’s Kerry � Dublin flights by reminding him that Ryanair has written repeatedly to his party colleague Minister Noel “Expenses” Dempsey asking him to preserve the future of Ryanair’s Kerry- Dublin PSO service.

Ryanair reminded ‘Expenses’ O’Donoghue that his Fianna Fáil led Govt increased the costs on the Kerry – Dublin PSO (following Ryanair’s commencement of the service in July 2008) by over €660,000 annually, and his colleague Noel ‘Expenses’ Dempsey has refused to increase the payments due to Ryanair to take into account these unanticipated costs, as set out in the PSO agreement, while at the same time increasing the PSO payments to semi-state monopolies such as Bus Eireann.

Ryanair pointed out that while the Govt were increasing the costs on the Kerry-Dublin PSO ‘Expenses’ O’Donoghue managed to burn through over €700,000 in ‘expenses’ (2006-2009) while his colleague ‘Expenses’ Dempsey blew €100,000 taking the Govt jet to the McGill Summer School.

Ryanair said it is laughable that ‘Expenses’ O’Donoghue would launch an internet petition, yet has failed to obtain any explanation from his colleague Noel ‘Expenses’ Dempsey on the future of the Kerry-Dublin PSO.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said;

“John ‘Expenses’ O’Donoghue’s petition shows just how out of touch these ex-Ministers have become. They think nothing of blowing €700,000 of scarce taxpayers’ funds on their first class airfares, their five star hotels and their limousines between airport terminals, yet refuse to do anything about the cost increases this Govt has imposed on the Kerry – Dublin PSO.

If John O’Donoghue and Noel Dempsey had wasted less money on their planes, trains and limousines in recent years, the Dept of Transport could afford the €440,000 required to preserve Ryanair’s three daily return flights on the Kerry – Dublin PSO service, which will be cut to one daily return flight from next week, and the people of Kerry would have their PSO service instead of a useless internet petition on the even more useless Fianna Fáil website. ”