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Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
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Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
How Star Trek predicted the futureWHEN Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first dreamed up the concept of a television show based in the unexplored universe of Outer Space in 1964, the world was a very different place.
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Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
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Mayo’s statement of intentGalway 0-11 Mayo 4-16 Five minutes to go in Salthill yesterday and James Horan was still cajoling his men to sew it into Galway.
Wilkinson inspires Toulon to gloryASM Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16 Not for the first time this season, a matchday performance and the result have made a mockery of the statistics.
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Ryanair’s passenger numbers fall by 50,000 in January on plane groundings
Ryanair passenger figures were down by 50,000 as the airline grounded up to 80 aircraft following the Christmas period.
By Vincent Ryan
But Ryanair’s Robin Kiely remained upbeat on passenger numbers. “As previously guided, Ryanair’s Jan 2013 traffic fell by 50,000 [-1%] over Jan 2012 as we grounded up to 80 aircraft following the busy Christmas season.
He added: “However, Ryanair enjoyed another record 12-month period to Jan 2013, with almost 80m passengers choosing one of our ultra-low fares since Jan 2012.”
The news of the fall in figures came after it was revealed that Ryanair are offering to pay Flybe €100m to operate Aer Lingus’s routes in a last ditch effort to get EU approval for their take over of the former state airline.
Flybe “has reached an agreement in principle with Ryanair about the possible transfer of a number of aircraft and operating routes as part of a package of concessions Ryanair has submitted to the European Commission”, the Devon, England-based airline said.
The accord still requires board and shareholder approval, Flybe said.
The UK carrier would acquire 43 routes from Aer Lingus — almost half of its short-haul network — and more than 10 aircraft and associated crew under a binding agreement filed with the European Commission, according to two people familiar with the deal.
Ryanair would forego about €20m of Aer Lingus’s pretax earnings as a result, said the people, who asked not to be identified.
Meanwhile, Air France- KLM’s Dublin-based unit CityJet is nearing sale as its parent company whittles down the number of bidders to two.
The offers are for the entire business, including the CityJet name, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the process is confidential. The Paris-based company wants to have one financial bidder and another from the aviation industry on its shortlist, the person said.
“The Air France KLM Group is studying different options for CityJet as indicated in the past,” said Brigitte Barrand, a spokes-woman yesterday. She declined additional comment on the selection process.
Air France-KLM, which is Europe’s biggest airline, has been revamping its regional operations in an effort to end years of losses.
Its Brit Air, Regional and Airlinair are being folded into single unit HOP!, which was unveiled last month.