I agree - it is a degradation of safety standards. With any other airline the cabin crew are required to brief the passengers sat in the emergency row NOT only to familiarise themselves with the safe operation of the overwing exits but ALSO to obtain their assent to a request that they agree to assist cabincrew in the event of an emergency evacuation.
If no such consent is obtained and cabin crew are 15 rows distant, how the hell is any control whatever exerted over use of overwing emergency exits?
In have travelled Ryanair twice so far since this regime has been implemented.
On the first flight there were approximately 100 passengers total and none had reserved seats and #1 relented to allow non-paying passengers to use overwing seats.
On the second, there were approximately 130 passengers and there was one surcharged passenger sat next to one of the four overwing exits. Cabin crew refused to let anyone else sit in the remaining spare eleven overwing seats.