Irish Steve, I accept your concerns regarding potential security breaches at Dublin Airport. Are yanair to blame in any way, I think not.
Ryanair's online checkin is a logical progresive move to improve checkin procedures for passengers and reduce costs to the airline. It is only a matter of time before it is adopted by every airline worldwide. I am sure EI are asking themselves why they invested so heavily in Easy check in when all they had to do was ask their customers to print off their own borading cards at home or at the office before the left for the airport. I know you still can't check in bags when you check in online but perhaps it will be that case in the near future as many US carriers now offer that service.
Yes, there is the potential for an "unauthorised" person to be airside if they get a DIY boarding card from someone else but surely if two people were adament to get one airside for the purpose of getting access to the ramp to make a political statement or commit an act of terrorism then why don't they just buy a ticket, check in online themselves, proceed thru security with their own boarding card and ID and go about their business. This way they don't run the risk of alerting security to their plans.
I have been comuting between SNN and STN for the past two months and in the past few weeks being able to check in online at SNN has been fantastic. Finish work at 1515, airport by 1530, boarding gate by 1540 (just in time to hear my name being called to identify myself as an online pax), catch the 1605 to STN and I am sitting in my local in Stansted village by 1730 if everything goes on schedule. I must congradulate Ryanair for enabling me to do this. Yes they are doing it in order to reduce costs but I save heaps of time and in business isn't time equal to money?
GP