February 18, 2010 - Last year over 800 employees lost their jobs when SR Technics closed its facility at Dublin Airport. The owner of Ryanair, Michael O'Leary, states he could restore 300 of those jobs if he could rent or buy hangar number 6 at Dublin Airport at a reasonable price. At the present time Aer Lingus has a 20 year lease on the property however, the property has not been used in years and it is vacant (see photos). 

Government officials have informed Ryanair that they will not rent them the property because “they can’t break the lease” with Aer Lingus. You would think with Ireland’s high unemployment of 13 percent government officials could solve this problem with the blink of an eye and move onto more pressing problems. Here is a company that states they can create 300 jobs and you have a government in opposition.

Ryanair, Ireland’s largest airline, on Tuesday afternoon rejected the "false" claims made by Prime Minister (Taoiseach), Brian Cowen, and Deputy Prime Minister (Tánaiste), Mary Coughlan, of Ireland. Prime Minister Cowen, “The Government can't break the law to give Ryanair the hangar it wants at Dublin Airport. The airline can have hangars 3 and 4 or one can be built.”

The Taoiseach also referred to as An Taoiseach is the head of government of Ireland,  appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas), and must, while he remains in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil. The role of Taoiseach is that of a prime minister. The current Taoiseach is Brian Cowen.

The Tánaiste or, more formally, An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Mary Coughlan.

Ryanair states the prime ministers made four false claims about Ryanair’s offer to create up to 300 jobs, if the airline was allowed to lease Hangar 6, a heavy maintenance facility. 

“Lie No. 1 : The prime minister claimed that Aer Lingus has a 20 year lease over the Hangar 6 facility and that this lease cannot be broken. This is untrue, since the prime minister at last night’s meeting with Ryanair confirmed that Aer Lingus’ 20 year lease has the same 12 month’s notice clause in it (as all DAA leases do), allowing the DAA to request Aer Lingus to vacate Hangar 6. The exercise of this Clause by the Govt owned DAA would not be a breach of the lease, and nor would it be breaking the law, as the Prime Minister wrongly claimed.

“Lie No. 2 : The Prime Minister claimed that there was a 24 months notice period in the Aer Lingus Hangar 6 lease. This is also untrue, since the Deputy Prime Minister at last evening’s meeting with Ryanair confirmed that the notice clause in the Aer Lingus Hangar 6 lease was 12 months. The fact that Aer Lingus have put very little into Hangar 6 (other than 95 line engineers) means that this facility could be vacated by Aer Lingus within 12 weeks which would allow Ryanair to start recruiting some former SRT engineers for heavy maintenance on Ryanair’s fleet from September 2010 onwards.

“Lie No. 3: The Prime Minister claimed that there was “a competition” for the Hangar 6 facility. This is untrue. There was no such competition. Ryanair calls on the Prime Minister to publish the terms of this competition (since they don’t exist) and he should also confirm how Aer Lingus won this competition in November, when they created not one new job in the Hangar 6 facility, over Ryanair, which offered (last September) to create up to 500 jobs in the facility.   How could an airline creating no jobs, win this alleged competition over an airline offering to create 500 jobs. The Prime Minister should explain this false claim.

“Lie No. 4 :The Prime Minister claimed Ryanair “did not make an offer” for Hangar 6. This is also untrue. Ryanair has published the written offers it made directly to the Deputy Prime Minister in August and September last year, offering to create up to 500 maintenance jobs in Hangar 6 on the basis that Ryanair would be sold or leased the Hangar 6 facility. The Prime Minister’s claim that Ryanair did not make an offer for the facility is false.

“It is extraordinary that the Prime Minister has now allowed himself to be tied up in the same lies which have been put about by the DAA for a number of days now. The Deputy Prime Minister last night confirmed (1) that the DAA can require Aer Lingus to vacate Hangar 6, (2) this can be done within 12 months (although Ryanair believes it could be done within 12 weeks given that Hangar 6 is empty) (3) that Ryanair did make an offer for the Hangar 6 facility last September and (4) the claim that Aer Lingus “won” a competition in November last despite creating no new jobs whatsoever are all false claims.

“Ryanair calls on the Prime Minister to correct these false claims, or alternatively publish the terms of the competition he claims Aer Lingus won last year, and explain to the 800 unemployed SRT engineers on what basis Aer Lingus won this competition (when they have created no jobs and have no heavy maintenance hangar) over Ryanair who offered 500 jobs and can start putting heavy maintenance work into Hangar 6 from September of this year.

“The Govt have yet to explain (as the Tánaiste refused to at last night’s meeting) why they are allowing Aer Lingus and the DAA to block Hangar 6 which is currently empty, from an airline which is offering to create 300 jobs and allocate a large volume of heavy maintenance work to this facility. Why does the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and this Govt willingly allow 300 aircraft engineers to draw the dole, while they preside over and defend Aer Lingus blocking the large heavy maintenance Hangar 6 facility, when all of Aer Lingus’ heavy maintenance has been contracted overseas for the next 8 years?” said Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary.

See:

Irelands Ryanair Passengers Want O’Leary To Sumo Stelios

Ryanair Confronts Both Ministers Of Enterprise And Transportation

Ryanair Accuses Transportation Minister Of Misleading The Dáil