I've just seen on Breakingnews.ie that Aer Arann is axing its DUB-Shannon route from 27/11. This just gives another example of how damaging the stopover is; the ATR42/72 is the ideal aircraft for this kind of route, in that this is the type of route it was designed for - and it's also a lot more environmentally friendly.
If EI didn't have the 50/50 obligation, there would be sufficient demand for Aer Arann to operate this route, because there wouldn't be anything like as many Aer Lingus flights - Aer Lingus certainly doesn't want to operate as many as it has to; it's an unavoidable consequence of the regulations. Again, everyone loses because of EU intransigence.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/?jp=CWIDEYEYMHQL