O’Donoghue blames Ryanair for staff redundancies at Kerry Airport

Ryanair should be held responsible for the redundancies facing staff at Kerry Airport, according to Kerry South TD John O’Donoghue. Deputy O’Donoghue made his comments after the airport confirmed that 20 of its 65 staff members would be laid off from 4th February.

He also called on the Department of Transport to bring forward the PSO contract negotiations for Kerry Airport and to provide a new subsidy that would safeguard the airport’s staff and future.

“This is terrible news that will come as a real blow to everyone working in the airport, their families, friends and colleagues,” said Deputy O’Donoghue. “My thoughts are with them in this difficult period and I really hope that we might be able to find some way of offsetting these redundancies.”

“This is all down to the decision by Ryanair not to honour the contract they signed to provide three flights a day from Kerry Airport to Dublin under their PSO contract. If the airline had stood by the black and white terms they agreed to, then that contract would have run until next summer and we would not have to deal with these redundancies.”

“The fact that this point was re-emphasised by Kerry Airport Chairman Denis Cregan just shows you how badly this greedy decision by Ryanair has affected Kerry Airport. They have caused these job losses by pulling out of a deal despite the fact that they were getting money from the State for running these routes.”

“However now that Ryanair have broken their contract, we need to find a replacement under the PSO scheme. The Department of Transport had indicated that they did not intend to renew the PSO contracts at the various regional airports around Ireland, but there is still a strong case for PSOs being maintained for the airports in Kerry and Donegal.”

“Given the geographical positions of both airports and how attractive both locations, particularly Kerry, are to tourists it is vital that air travel should be an option for people looking to travel. The only way that will be protected is if we manage to put in place a new PSO contract. That is the case I am making to the Department of Transport and Minister Dempsey and it is one I will be pressing even more urgently following on from the news of these redundancies.”

“Even though money is tight on a national basis, we should still be able to safeguard the future of Kerry Airport by putting a new PSO contract in place. The airport is of vital importance to Kerry, to our local business and tourism interests. When you consider all the arguments in favour of a new PSO arrangement I really think there is a very strong case and I hope that the Department will listen to reason on this issue,” Deputy O’Donoghue concluded.