(1888PressRelease)
August 23, 2007 - County Clare, IRELAND - Members of the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly have unanimously called on the Taoiseach and the Government to immediately prepare an Irish Government Aviation Policy and end the monopoly of airlines in deciding to remove strategically significant services.
Assembly members met at the Oakwood Arms Hotel in Shannon following the decision of Aer Lingus to end the Shannon to London Heathrow route with effect from 1st January 2008. They called on the Taoiseach to examine the situation where a previously funded State Body, whose assets were funded by the Irish Taxpayer and despite privatisation, should be allowed to act in a fashion that is contrary to Government policy. The meeting also heard from an Aer Lingus workers representative who said that Airline CEO Dermot Mannion's action was illegal, and at variance with Government policy.
The Waterford-based Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly comprises 41 elected representatives from constituent local authorities within the Dublin, Mid-West, Mid-East, South-East and South-West Regions of Ireland.
According to Cllr Conal Kavanagh (Wicklow Town/County), Cathaoirleach of the Assembly, "The Assembly is demanding the reversal of a decision that has been announced without consultation either at Board level, or as a matter of courtesy, with the Minister for Transport. This decision, if allowed to remain unchanged, will have serious and lasting consequences for the Mid-West and the West of Ireland and will cause serious damage to the commercial, industrial and tourism industries of the wider region resulting in severe job losses."
"The legal position/ownership of the slots at Heathrow Airport must be immediately established. The Taoiseach and Government must examine the situation where a previously funded State Body, whose assets were funded by the Irish Taxpayer and despite privatisation, should be allowed to act in a fashion that is contrary to Government policy", he said.
Assembly Director Stephen Blair added, "It is the view of the Assembly that the Articles of Association state that 'shareholders approval to dispose of these slots must be acquired before any decision would be made as to their allocation for any Airport other than Shannon Airport'; this was not done. The Assembly wishes to point out that it is their opinion that these slots are not disposable assets within the asset portfolio of Aer Lingus."
"The Assembly is now seeking an immediate meeting with the Taoiseach, Minister for Finance and Minister for Transport and, apart from calling for the annulment and withdrawal of the decision of Aer Lingus, that the Government clearly state what investment is planned for the region and especially funding for the proposals contained in the Tourism & Economic Development Plan, arising from the consequences of 'open skies'", continued Mr. Blair.
Meanwhile, Tony Kinnane who represents Aer Lingus workers at Shannon Airport told Assembly members that the workers had no prior warning of the decision of the CEO to remove the Shannon-London Heathrow slots and re-assign them to Belfast.
He said, "Aer Lingus has currently two Heathrow slots leased, the Shannon-LHR route is currently profitable with no directly competing airline, whereas the Belfast-LHR already has eight pairs of flights per day operated by British Midland. The 2008 timetable also suggests that the Cork-LHR operations were being transferred to Belfast with Shannon-LHR slots moving to Cork. If this decision is allowed to stand, it would set a very dangerous precedent for the other Irish airports."
Mr. Kinnane explained, "The view of the Aer Lingus workers in Shannon is that what the CEO is attempting to do is illegal, and is at variance with government policy. The Articles of Association of the Company, which require the holding of an EGM prior to the disposal of slots at Heathrow, were clearly not adhered to on this occasion. Neither were the commitments entered into by Government at the time of the sale of Aer Lingus."
Representatives of the newly established Atlantic Connectivity Alliance, including Alec Fleming, Clare County Manager and Ger Dollard, Director of Services with Clare County Council, also attended the meeting.
Mr. Fleming said, "The meeting indicated a strong level of support from all members present and notably those from the Dublin and Eastern Regions. It was clearly acknowledged that this issue is one of national significance."
"I fully support the Assembly's call on the Taoiseach and Minister for Transport as Shareholders, to request the urgent calling of an Extraordinary General Meeting of Aer Lingus and table a Resolution for that meeting that the decision as announced by the C.E.O. be immediately annulled. I also support the call on Oireachtas Members of all Parties; the Local Authorities in the respective Regions and various representative bodies, to come together to decide on a joint strategy for the annulment of this decision", added Mr. Fleming.
Present at Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly meeting were Cllr Conal Kavanagh, Cathaoirleach, Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly; Mr. Alex Fleming, representative of the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance, and Clare County Manager; Ger Dollard, Atlantic Connectivity Alliance and Director of Services, Clare County Council; Tony Kinnane, representative of Aer Lingus workers at Shannon Airport; Cllr Maurice Ahern, Cllr Marie Ardagh, Cllr Brian Bermingham, Cllr Tomas Breathnach, Cllr Maria Byrne, Cllr. Michael Cahill, Cllr Anne Carter, Cllr. Peter Considine, Cllr Eddie Creighton, Cllr Mary Frehill, Cllr. Damien Geoghegan, Cllr Pat Hand, Cllr. Rainsford Hendy, Cllr James Holloway, Cllr Paul Kelly, Cllr Martin Lafferty, Cllr Michael Maguire, Cllr Seamus Murray, Cllr Michael O’Donovan, Cllr. Tom O'Driscoll, Cllr Mattie Ryan.
The Southern & Eastern Region consists of the following counties within the 5 Regional Authority areas: Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, Fingal, South Dublin (Dublin Region); Carlow, Tipperary S.R., Waterford City and County, Wexford, Kilkenny (South-East Region); Cork City and County, Kerry (South-West Region); Clare, Limerick City and County, Tipperary N.R. (Mid-West Region); Kildare, Meath, Wicklow (Mid-East Region).
Notes to Editor:
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