RAT 5,
To answer your question, I know of two guys who struggled on their base check. They were put in the sim at EMA for a few more hours (At FR's expense) and then went back up in the real thing to do their circuits again. They both passed and are now flying the line.
Mr Horgy,
I made £35k net (From Cadet to FO) in my one and only year at Ryanair as a PAYE employee. I was fortunate in that I was through my line training in six weeks and then straight onto a Ryanair contract and half sector pay for the first six months. (I say fortunate because some guys are a little unlucky with the continuity of their line training and it may take a bit longer)..
During that six month period of half sector pay, you will get a lot of flying done believe me. This is because you're fifty percent cheaper to have flying than a FO who is out of that six month period.