QuoteO'Dea would be feck all use as a Defence Minister if we ever have an actual Armageddon.
I'd rather have Bruce Willis in charge of things.
FF are bored with being the Government so they want to be the Opposition too. FG & Labour can be disbanded so can have 1 party state...Originally Posted by Macy
O'Dea would be feck all use as a Defence Minister if we ever have an actual Armageddon.
I'd rather have Bruce Willis in charge of things.
SIGNATURESCOPE
They could dust off that photo of him pointing the gun at the camera.O'Dea would be feck all use as a Defence Minister if we ever have an actual Armageddon.
That would scare off superpowers.
If Aer Lingus board get their way there won't be any Heathrow-Cork flights soon enough either.Easy. He can fly to Cork. For every problem there is a solution.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
Heard other politicians on the airwaves last week, saying that this could bring down the government in the autumn.Just listening on Morning Ireland, to some FFers from Co. Clare who had a meeting in Ennis last night. They're "outraged". That's it ...that's all. Oh... and they want "action" (don't we all)
Couldn't even bring themselves to forward so much as an empty threat to resign their seats, break away as some quasi-Independent rump... Nothing. More hot air than when Richard Branson goes flying.
But the mid west region is well served by their FF reps because they're "outraged".
No chance whatsoever. If anything was shown by the last election, it shows that the public don't care about Shannon, the poor transport/infrastructure, the health crisis, e-voting fiasco, the rising inflation levels, etc, but showed that the only thing that mattered was how much they have in their pocket at the end of the week.
Despite leading one of the worst-performing governments in recent history, 78 FF TD's were elected in May, which says it all.
Is there any basis for that, or are we just throwing around idle accusations now?
Nice way to deflect the topic...
The fact is golfers & other tourists can still get to the South West.
Has anyone reconciled Ryanair's long-stated position on pressuring Aer Lingus to sell all its Heathrow slots and using its voting block to hold and EGM to make Aer Lingus retain its Shannon-Heathrow flights?
Yeah, no one actually expects them to be at anything here but **** stirring.
What crisis?
People in the mid-west obviously need to get their heads around what it means when a Company is floated on the Stock Exchange.
Writing a report on the upcoming EGM for some of our institutional investor clients with Aer Lingus holdings will be interesting - I wonder if house style will allow me to use the words "****-stirring" when talking about Ryanair? Maybe if it appears in the press I can quote it.
Besides - who'd want to use Heathrow anyhow - they are losing a lot of luggage down a black hole lately. They seem to find it about six weeks after you come back from holiday.
Maybe you are better off flying via Paris after all.
I've no problem conceding it's predominantly a hunch. Maybe you'd like to outline the factors keeping them in Cork that don't exist in Shannon? Aside from ease of access for Corkonians.
...for now Pete. I won't say I told you so when Corks turn comes ...and it's coming.
I think they know full well what it means now. ...and those who voiced concerns about the privitisation process at the time were called backward, protectionist, nay-sayers who needed to get with the times ...and besides the state was keeping a share in the company so that it could protect the strategic heathrow slots.What crisis?
People in the mid-west obviously need to get their heads around what it means when a Company is floated on the Stock Exchange.
.
Maybe ...so why's Paris or one of the Londons peripheral abandoned battle of britain fighter bases good enough for the mid-west but not good enough for Belfast?
Last edited by dahamsta; 22/08/2007 at 12:26 PM.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
I'd suggest a combination of higher load factors and average seat price driven by the fact the Cork area is home to more large international businesses (eg pharma sector) than Shannon/Limerick and lower costs given that Cork is a a growing hub for Aer Lingus so check-in, baggage handling and ground services all benefit from economies of scale.
Again, not rocket science.
Quit when you are behind. So you somehow "deserve" a link to Heathrow?!
Last edited by dahamsta; 22/08/2007 at 1:16 PM.
As much as anyone else deserves one. I can't counter the stats you haven't presented for Cork being home to "more international businesses" but I could perhaps counter that Shannon has as large or even a larger hinterland.
My core point is there isn't a whole lot between the two and if Aer Lingus are taking the Heathrow slots away from Shannon now then the Cork ones are surely next and probably sooner than anyone thinks. I take no schadenfreude in saying it ...Unlike some here who seem to think there's a savage beauty of sorts in watching a region get a kick in the teeth from a privatised business built on a public purse.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
Shannon-Gatwick would probably be a better choice as it has a lot of the connections Heathrow has & just as good access to London City.
Look loads of options to London!
Its a disgrace Cork has no connection to Luton.London (Gatwick) Ryanair Daily
London (Heathrow) Aer Lingus 4 Daily
London (Luton) Ryanair Daily
London (Stansted) Ryanair 3 Daily
Final Advice to Western Naysayers - stop looking for hand outs & do something for yourself for a change.
I heard a guy on the radio (may have been Dooley as below) decrying the FF 'spin job' report. He actually said that the FF top brass were playing a dangerous game trying to put forward a case using "statistics" - "If they came down here and talked to the people I've talked to they'd realise exactly how serious the situation is".
Because anecdotal evidence beats yer statistics and facts any day of the week.
http://www.independent.ie/national-n...s-1064116.html
Row over FF 'spin job' in shoring up Aer Lingus
Thursday August 23 2007
Fianna Fail was accused last night of engaging in "Machiavellian spin" as the Shannon row took a new twist.
The senior Coalition party claimed the Government response to Shannon protected the Aer Lingus share price.
A briefing document circulated by Fianna Fail HQ to the party's representatives along the western seaboard says the Government response to the controversy has protected the Aer Lingus share price during a turbulent week for Irish shares.
The document, entitled 'Key Facts on Shannon/Heathrow Issue', states that in a turbulent week the ISEQ fell by 2.65pc while Aer Lingus rose by 0.83pc.
"The Government response has protected the investment value of the independent shareholders, the staff and pensioner shareholders and the Government's own shareholding."
Fianna Fail members are also been told the number of business people flying from Shannon to Heathrow to connect to other flights has decreased by 34pc.
FF's Clare TD, Timmy Dooley, dismissed the document as "disingenuous spin", while the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance accused Transport Minister Noel Dempsey's department of resorting to "Machiavellian spin in an effort to row in Fianna Fail colleagues".
On the economic impact of the Aer Lingus decision, the document states: "The focus must be to protect international connectivity".
The sense of crisis in the mid-west also deepened as it emerged an Eastern European airline may be on the brink of pulling flights from the airport
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I'm very annoyed at the Irish Times for printing on their front page the opinion of Timmy Dooley (FF TD) that some of the statistics "didn't stand up to scrutiny". Which ones? Seriously, one bloody example please? But no, critical reporting isn't actually valued in this country, easier just to quote him.
Confucious says " they who wear two faces, end up bewildered". Such will be the fate of O'Dea
"Look at them. They're all out of step except my son Johnny"
Mrs. Delaney
Why does Clare/Galway have 2 state funded airports? Would it not make sense to close Galway & put all the money into Shannon
The obvious solution to Dublin is a green field site 30 miles from the City, sell the current airport land in Swords & fund new airport with train link.
...because what you call Clare/Galway isn't one place but in fact two places.
While Shannon Airport happens to be in Clare, it's about 12 miles from Limerick city. Galway airport is, as the name betrays, somewhere in and around Galway city. It, along with Kerry and Knock, recieves some form of subvention (a good thing IMO). Shannon does not.
...if you say so. But how do you fund an airport with a train link?
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
With 3 Airport serving maybe 300k people no wonder they can't get the economies of scale to remain viable.
Land values in Swords would pay for the entire project....if you say so. But how do you fund an airport with a train link?
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