I believe a universal 5/3 is a very real possibility for the summer. It would be the first indication of crewing problem in my opinion.
The likes of getting DUB as a base is more problematic for a Captain in my opinion, less so for an FO due to the amount of CUs that have recently occurred. However there is a contingency who are unwilling to upgrade due to the fact that they have lives in Ireland and/or they are on good permanent contracts. Added issue is that the base is shrinking. I don't even believe it can be considered as the second largest base in the company any longer?
The base is majority Irish flight crew - both FOs and Captains. Any Captains that have been transferred there in the last few years, a very limited few I may add, have all been Irish nationals - as have any FOs. There has always been an influx of newbees once every 6 months. All sent there from an allocation list with no thought or consideration whatsoever. But sure, that's how base allocation works in Ryanairland!