Mayor calls for reversal support

THE mayor of Limerick Cllr Ger Fahy yesterday called on the Government to support the Ryanair EGM resolution to reverse the transfer of the Aer Lingus Shannon-Heathrow routes to Belfast.

Fianna Fáil Limerick East TD Peter Power was also in favour of backing the Ryanair move.

At a briefing session of Limerick City Council, Mayor Fahy said it was vital the decision is fought as hard as possible.

He said: “As mayor of Limerick I intend to write to the Taoiseach and ask him to intervene personally and support the Ryanair motion. Between them, the Government and Ryanair have more than 50% of the shareholding in Aer Lingus.

“This is the best route we can go to reverse the decision. We cannot end up with a situation which will lead to the downgrading of the mid-west and the western seaboard.”

Mr Fahy said Aer Lingus failed to anticipate the response from the region, and that response is gaining momentum.

He said: “Aer Lingus completely underestimated the opposition. That opposition is coming from many vested interests and from groups whose only vested interest is the protection of the viability of this region.”

He said Aer Lingus management failed to make proper consultations to arrive at a proper decisions and the timing left a lot to be desired.

Deputy Peter Power is the first Government TD to publicly support the Ryanair move.

He said: “I have always maintained that it is the shareholders acting together who can force this issue and overturn the decision. I am now calling on the Government to support the reversal of this management decision at the EGM.”