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.

Most of the anger at the meeting was directed at Aer Lingus for the timing of its decision and its lack of notice.

Mr Ahern and Mr Dempsey reassured deputies they were doing their utmost to try and find an alternative route.

Mr Ahern told deputies that he met with 13 different groups and was determined to do everything within his power to find a Heathrow connection for Shannon.

The most direct onslaught of the Government’s handling of the Shannon crisis came from an unexpected quarter.

Senator Mary White, the Louth-born senator, severely criticised her own Government for abdicating its responsibility over the Shannon withdrawal.

She said that the Aer Lingus decision had angered people from Castlebar (in Mayo) to Castleisland in Kerry.

Ms White brought up the subject at the plenary session yesterday afternoon.

In an outspoken contribution she said that Heathrow was the “hub of the world” and that the loss of slots to Shannon and the mid-west was serious.

Spotting the Taoiseach’s top adviser Gerry Hickey apparently shaking his head in disagreement, Senator White retorted that she was an elected official of the party and he was not.

Several of the party’s most prominent critics of the Shannon withdrawal — including Clare TD Timmy Dooley and Limerick East deputy Peter Power — have indicated that they will not support opposition motions of no confidence against the Government over Shannon when the Dáil returns.