Ryanair: Tourism can’t trust Fianna Fáil says Ryanair

Ryanair, Ireland's largest airline today (9 Feb) denounced Fianna Fáil's latest tourism "strategy" as more empty promises from a party that can't be trusted on tourism, who have broken previous election promises on tourism, and whose ministers have destroyed Irish tourism over recent years.

In Fianna Fáil's previous Programme for Government, Bertie Ahern promised a competing, independent terminal at Dublin and independent airports at Cork and Shannon also. However once back in office, the Fianna Fáil Government reversed this election promise and abandoned Irish tourism as follows:

· Min Martin Cullen awarded the T2 contract to the high cost DAA monopoly.

· Min Cullen ordered the Regulator to allow the DAA waste €1.2bn on the T2 Taj Mahal.

· Min Noel Dempsey ordered the Regulator to allow the DAA increase airport fees by 40% in 2010 to pay for T2.

· Min Noel Dempsey again ordered the Regulator to allow the DAA raise fees by 15% in 2011, while inflation is 0%.

· Min Brian Lenihan imposed a €10 tourist tax in 2010 which has devastated air traffic and visitor numbers.

Ryanair condemned Fianna Fáil for presiding over two successive years of collapse in Irish air traffic and tourism. Traffic at the three main Irish airports had collapsed from 30m in 2008 to less than 23m in 2010 (down 25%) and continues to fall because Fianna Fáil's mismanagement and its monopoly protection policies which have made Ireland a high cost, uncompetitive tourist destination.

Speaking today, Michael O'Leary said

"Fianna Fáil can't be trusted with Irish tourism. They welched on their previous election promises to break up the DAA monopoly and Fianna Fáil ministers have in recent years destroyed Irish tourism by introducing a tourist tax and ordering the Regulator to rubberstamp the DAA monopoly's inflation busting price increases, which have destroyed Irish tourism.

"It is remarkable, at a time when thousands of jobs have been lost in Irish tourism and mass emigration has returned, that the DAA monopoly have failed to respond to Ryanair's written offer last December to grow 4m passengers annually at Dublin Airport, which would create over 4,000 new jobs in North County Dublin. On the 8th February, almost 8 weeks later, Ryanair still haven't had a response from the DAA to the only large volume traffic growth offer they've received for summer 2011. The DAA have been protected by successive Fianna Fáil ministers who don't care about Irish tourism or Irish jobs. We hope that the next Government will break up this failed airport monopoly as previous Fianna Fáil Governments promised to, but ultimately lied to the Irish people.

Fianna Fáil's record of broken promises and monopoly protection failures has destroyed Irish tourism. Fianna Fáil's election promises on tourism can't be trusted, while at the same time their ministers impose tourist taxes and airport price increases."