Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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123. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will detail the outcome of any discussion that he or his officials have had with a company (details supplied) in relation to allegations of price gouging and profiteering on its routes from eastern Europe as a result of the increase in Ukrainian refugees coming to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20972/22]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Officials from my Department have recently sought information from Ryanair regarding the level of utilisation of the services it operates between Poland and Ireland.  

Ryanair indicated that it provides up to 100 flights per week on 16 routes between the major airports in Poland to Dublin, Cork and Shannon, and has seen strong but not excessive demand on these routes into Ireland in recent weeks. The airline suggested that it had sufficient capacity in place to cover demand in the region as it stands, and in particular in respect of capacity on flights from Polish airports.

On the issue of air fare pricing and related charges, under European Union Regulation 1008/2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community, airlines have pricing freedom in relation to air fares and air rates for intra-Community air services and other related services such as baggage.

Regulation 1008/2008 requires that air fares be transparent i.e. that passengers booking a flight must be aware of the final price of a flight including any supplemental elements selected by the passenger, at all times during the booking process.

Within this legal framework airlines regularly take into account varying operational realities in setting these fares and charges over time, for example flights at peak times or with short advance bookings may attract higher prices which is an industry norm.