FF deputies and senators concede Shannon pullout a done deal

FIANNA Fáil deputies, senators and MEPs from the western seaboard conceded last night that the Aer Lingus decision to pull its Shannon to Heathrow service was a done deal and that their anger over the decision will not materialise into a rebellion.

Some 20 parliamentarians from the region, as well as West MEP Seán Ó Neachtain and South MEP Brian Crowley, held a meeting with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Transport Minister Noel Dempsey to express their frustration and anger at the decision.

The meeting, organised by junior minister Tony Killeen, was described as practical and workmanlike with no raised voices from the TDs and senators from the mid-west.