Outgoing Aer Rianta chair slams Brennan

[Farrell]

30 September 2004 21:18
Outgoing chairman of Aer Rianta Noel Hanlon has said it is a great relief to aviation interests that Séamus Brennan has been transferred from the Dept of Transport.

Speaking as Aer Rianta is due to be replaced by the Dublin Airport Authority, Mr Hanlon said its whole fabric has been pulled asunder by Mr Brennan's restructuring plans.

He said the fact that Mr Brennan was being transferred appeared to suggest that he had not been doing his job in the best interests of the Irish people & the Irish Govt.



He said it was clear that ex-Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy had shared his view that Shannon could not survive as an independent airport, particularly if the Shannon stopover disappeared.

Mr Hanlon doubted whether the full separation of Cork and Shannon would take place on schedule next May.

Earlier today, the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, denied that moving Mr Brennan from Transport to the Dept of Social, Community & Family Affairs constituted a demotion.

[eoinok]

"No pain no gain" would be my motto here.

ORK and SNN have been suffocated for many years by DUB.

Was told by someone before, in order for Cork or SNN to get approval to allow a new route to open, they would have to get approval from Dublin.

If the Dublin board thought that there was a chance that they might get the route, they would block the route going to Cork in the hope that they woudl get it or make a counter offer. Same business used to go on at shannon.

[EIDW Spotter]

Now that they are 3 individually run airports, lets see what the traffice increases are like? Will there be more new routes or just additional capcaity on present flown routes.

[Farrell]

Well, i think that EasyJet are starting routes to Cork, Shannon and Knock this month, so I guess this is the beginning!

[mr Q]

IRISH TIMES ONLINE 5/10/04
Former Aer Rianta chairman Mr Noel Hanlon presented watches worth €9,000 each to selected retiring and former members of the board of Aer Rianta in one of his final acts in office, it has emerged writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent.

The recipients included two former directors, businessman and former CIÉ chairman Mr Dermot O'Leary and the current ESB chairman, Mr Tadhg O'Donoghue. Both left the Aer Rianta board in June 2003.

Besides accepting a watch himself, Mr Hanlon also presented watches, paid for out of Aer Rianta funds, but "not Rolexes", to two other Aer Rianta directors, leading Cork businesswoman Ms Freda Hayes and ex-GPA executive Mr Liam Meade, Mr Hanlon's spokesman said last night.

Last night, Mr Hanlon stood by his decision: "He makes no apology for appropriate recognition of the exceptional contribution made by the retiring members," said his spokesman.

The outspoken businessman last week sharply criticised the former minister for transport Mr Brennan after Mr Brennan had lost his Transport role in the Cabinet reshuffle.

In one of the central changes made during Mr Brennan's term in office, Mr Hanlon and the board of Aer Rianta were put out of office last Thursday and replaced by the Dublin Airport Authority.

Distancing itself from the gifts, a Dublin Airport Authority spokesman said: "Any presentations made by the outgoing board of Aer Rianta are entirely an issue for that board."

The decision to present gifts was taken by the Aer Rianta board, said Mr Hanlon's spokesman, though two board members spoken to by The Irish Times last night said they had no knowledge of the decision.

The majority of the final Aer Rianta board membership did not receive watches, including Mr Joe Gantly, who is now in charge of the Cork Airport Authority and his Shannon counterpart, Mr Patrick Shanahan.

Saying that 30 extra board meetings had been held over the last three years, Mr Hanlon's spokesman said the directors had been required "to attend many long board meetings, exceptionally long meetings".

"It was Mr Hanlon's view that the €11,000 State payment in no way compensated them for their time or their expertise," Mr Hanlon's spokesman told The Irish Times last night.

Following his departure from the full Aer Rianta board, Mr Dermot O'Leary, who was sacked as CIÉ chairman in the mid-1990s by Fine Gael's Mr Michael Lowry, served "unpaid" on the board of Aer Rianta Middle East. Mr O'Donoghue, who has served as the chairman of the ESB since January 2001, continued to serve, also unpaid, on the board of another Aer Rianta's subsidiary, the Shannon Catering College.

[The_Bean_Counter]

Hanlon in return was given a €45,000 mercedes E class as a "retirement" gift.

Nice work if you can get it.

[DW11]

He seems to have had a sudden fit of conscience and has decided to give back his own watch and pay for the other four out of his own pocket.

If he can afford €36k out of his own pocket in response to a bit of criticism, god only knows how much he has amassed during his time as chairman. Any good investigative journalists out there?

[MarkD]

Hanlon is glad SB is gone. Maybe the rest of us should be concerned.

Hanlon used to run VHI too before BUPA made it shape up.

[akerosid]

It's somewhat ironic that Aer Rianta was angry when accused by both Aer Lingus and Ryanair of gold-plating their new pier at DUB. "Profligate? Us?" Kind of odd, when they saw fit to spend eur9,000 on watches, when watched for 1/100th of the price would have done the same job just as well!

Anyway, as Mark D. says, I think the rest of us should worry, because the best transport minister in many years (not against a lot of competition, but very good nonetheless) was effectively demoted and now, they're likely to backslide on plans to privatise Aer Lingus. How many other projects are likely to go by the wayside? The competing terminal at DUB? The Metro?