The lack of strategic vision at government level with regard to aviation in Ireland really is appalling. Unfortunately, the only politician who showed any inclination to tackle the issues and address some of the problems has now been dumped into the dept. of social welfare!!!
The first major repercussion of this "don't rock the boat" attitude is the loss of the three senior Aer Lingus executives. In time, I'm sure that unless the government start to make some bold decisions about DUB and Aer Lingus (or any type of decision for that matter!!!), the attitude of maintaining the status quo at all costs will see the country miss out on some enormous potential, not only with regard to tourism, but also, imho, the potential to become a major european transit hub to rival Amsterdam Schiphol, for example. It's clear that there is a viable business case for expanding the airport, judging by the submissions from Ryanair, DAT2, etc, to build a second terminal.