Internal flights get a lift from the taxpayer

I WAS astonished recently to read that the Irish taxpayer, courtesy of Fianna Fáil, is subsidising internal air travel from Dublin to all regional airports to the tune of €290 per journey.

Incredibly, Fine Gael have called for an extension of this largesse. Irish Rail are also in receipt of huge annual subsidies while competing directly with these aircraft.

In this context, Fianna Fáil efforts to privatise our public bus transport system is an unusual anomaly.