Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is fine. I thank Mr. O'Leary and Mr. Wilson for attending. I remember watching Ryanair's initial flight from Waterford to Gatwick Airport as a schoolkid and wondering if it would last. When Mr. O'Leary first went into the company he was probably not sure if it would either but Ryanair has been transformed. I thank him for what he has done, not only in providing low-cost aviation for Irish people and people all over Europe but also, in a peculiar way, probably saving Aer Lingus from itself at a certain point. It had to change to face the competition provided by Ryanair and that gave us two very good carriers. The connectivity Ryanair has provided us is fantastic and, as Mr. O'Leary pointed out, we are a peripheral nation which needs aviation more than any other country in terms of capacity. Cyprus and Malta are in the same position but they are not the same size as Ireland.

The ETS is one of Ryanair's main gripes and I totally get what Mr. O'Leary says about it and why he says it. Where do we go with this? It is a matter for the European Council of Ministers and the European Commission, so this committee will not solve it, although we can jump up and down about it. The Irish Times reported that Ryanair had a call yesterday with EUROCONTROL. What does Ryanair want this committee to do? Should we tackle the Minister for Transport or ask him to go to Europe? What are the next steps? I saw that Ryanair does not pay taxes on some flights, presumably flights to Morocco, Tel Aviv and similar places. Is that correct?