Results 21,021-21,040 of 24,376 for speaker:Jerry Buttimer

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy: Discussion (13 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I would like to ask another question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy: Discussion (13 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I concur with the Chairman. I think Dr. O'Grady is correct. It is about the cost and the initial shelling-out of that fee. I have an abstract question to which the witnesses might not have the answer. The EU INTERREG VA programme between academic institutions and local authorities is providing funding of €6.4 million for a project. I do not want to put the witnesses on the spot....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I welcome all our witnesses and thank them for being here.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: My comments today and prior to this meeting did not arise from a desire to get cheap headlines but were born out of frustration and experiences in real time of family members, friends and customers of all those in this room. I will begin with an example. I received a letter this week from a person who said that their family, ten people in total, were to fly from Dublin to Faroe yesterday,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I ask Ms Embleton as the chief executive if she has spoken directly to members of the travelling public who have been discommoded this summer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I thank Ms Embleton.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I am heartened by that. On foot of what we have all said this morning, I wish to say that clear communication and personal interaction is what people crave in this case. It is important that the witnesses do that and instruct their staff to do it. Ms Embleton shouted from the rooftops, to use the words of the Chairman, in terms of being ready for this summer. None of us anticipated the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I have a question about the working conditions in the Aer Lingus company. To be fair to Ms Embleton and her management team, they have had a series of negotiations with staff on new contracts and so forth. Some of us are being told that the atmosphere within the airline at present is toxic. That is according to an email I have, and I will not name the person who sent it to me. Another...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: To be fair to the staff, they are tremendous ambassadors for Aer Lingus as a company. I am heartened by and welcome Ms Embleton's remarks today about the shamrock and the importance of Ireland to Aer Lingus. I hope that it can be translated on the ground. The witnesses would expect me to finish with the issue of Cork Airport. I do not wish to be parochial but I will be.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I invite Mr. Moriarty and Ms Embleton to come to Cork and I will happily bring them to Cork Airport to meet the staff there and the business interests in Cork. Cork Airport is very important. Since 2019-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: -----and I see Mr. Moriarty smiling because he knows what I am coming to next-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: The second busiest airport in the country and the one that has won the most awards for customer quality-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: In the context of Cork, Aer Lingus had four aircraft there and it has had two since 2019. I welcome the base being retained, but what are its plans for increasing the number of aircraft?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: Aer Lingus received Government funding during Covid-19 as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: In the context of that piece Ms Embleton spoke about, Emerald Airlines has taken over the Aer Lingus regional flights. Can she comment on its relationship with the regional airports, not just Cork? Regarding Cork Airport, services to Lisbon, Nice, Barcelona, Paris, Brussels and Geneva have ceased. The winter preparedness or winter planning is a little bare, from what I can see from a Cork...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: There is no service to Barcelona out of Cork, for example. That is a profitable route and Aer Lingus has had high load factors on that in the past.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: What about winter flights to the sun out of Cork? Again, there was a high load factor in the past. Is that tied down?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: I thank the witnesses and thank them for attending the meeting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: In the context of that conflict of advice, the August bank holiday weekend is coming. I congratulate DAA on the Hopper award this week which ranked Dublin Airport as the fourth best performing airport in Europe. I am glad we have come from the debacle of early summer to this. Do you envisage going back to where we were in the August weekend? Can we have confidence we will not be where we were?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Situation at Dublin Airport: Discussion (26 Jul 2022)

Jerry Buttimer: Has DAA taken the comments of others today on the cleanliness and the tidying up at the airport on board?