The former management actually did as much as it was allowed to do; when she was minister, Maire Geoghegan Quinn banned anyone from EI from making public comments on the stopover and even wanted them to discipline anyone that did!
However, it was Bernie Cahill who persuaded then transport minister, Brian Cowen, to change the rule to the current 1:1 (which was only supposed to be transitional) on the basis that the airline could not justify investment in new aircraft (the old 747s being pretty long in tooth at the time) if the rule remained as it was.
That said, it is fair to say that there was a lot of lethargy, but the main fault has to lie squarely with govt; it had no vision and even less interest and of course, as we know, a rudderless vessel is completely at the mercy a strong wind and that blew from the midwest. All told, it's been a pretty pathetic and embarrassing history.