‘Cowen bowing to state agency’

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has been accused of being dictated to by state agencies as the bid to bring 300 jobs to Dublin Airport appeared dead.

Ferocious Dáil exchanges saw Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny claim the Dublin Airport Authority was running the country and blocking a Ryanair bid to create hundreds of hi-tech positions as ministers stood on the sidelines.

Mr Kenny demanded the Taoiseach personally intervene with the airline’s boss by “calling the bluff” of Michael O’Leary and getting Aer Lingus to relinquish the huge Hangar 6 at the airport to Ryanair.

“You own 100% of DAA and 25% of Aer Lingus. Ryanair owns a further 29% of the latter. You can intervene, as you did in other cases, to secure these jobs,” Mr Kenny said as he taunted Mr Cowen to “prove” he was up to the job of being Taoiseach.

Mr Cowen hit back by accusing the him of being simplistic, insisting the Government could not act “unlawfully” by getting involved in the hanger issue and ordering the DAA to hand it over to Ryanair.

The Taoiseach insisted other facilities could be given to Ryanair, or specially built for the airline’s needs instead.

“The suggestion here is forget about the law. It is not simply a case of taking out Aer Lingus, putting in Ryanair and away we go,” Mr Cowen said.

Ryanair dismissed the Taoiseach’s claims, however.

The budget airline claimed it had seen a copy of the lease and there were no restrictions on breaking the rental agreement.

“There is no legal impediment as suggested in the Dáil this morning,” a Ryanair spokesman said. “Sadly it appears that this Government is more concerned about protecting Aer Lingus’ occupation of an empty hangar than they are about creating 300 jobs.”

The UNITE trade union, which represents hundreds of current and former maintenance workers, claimed the proposed investment had become a mess and called on the Government and Ryanair to sort it.

But the union’s regional secretary, Jimmy Kelly, also accused politicians on all sides of playing games with workers’ futures.

“It is very rare that a union will agree with Michael O’Leary,” he said.

“This should be nothing to do with personalities though, and everything to do with the future of 300 highly skilled workers and their families. Politicians on every side are playing games with workers’ futures.”

Mr Kelly accused the Government of failing to act quickly to secure jobs.

“They could have saved 900 jobs at SR Technics last year for an investment no bigger than what they had to pay in redundancy and social welfare over 12 months,” he said.

“It was the same in Waterford Crystal where highly skilled labour excellence, built over generations, was allowed to drift abroad without a finger being lifted.

“Now there is another chance to act rather than wring their hands. Whoever and whatever it takes must be done to secure these aircraft maintenance jobs for Ireland,” he added.

Speaking in the Dáil, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore accused Mr Cowen of throwing away hundreds of jobs by sheer incompetence.

An Aer Lingus spokesperson last night insisted it would not relinquish its hold on the hangar.