This article is from page 4 of the 2008-01-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
GREEN Party councillor, Brian Meaney has accused his party col- league, Energy Minister, Eamon Ryan of showing little sensitivity towards the Shannon Heathrow controversy.
Cllr Meaney made the charge yes- terday after Minister Ryan admitted that he went and relaxed on a beach during a family holiday last August after hearing about the Aer Lingus decision to axe the Shannon-Heath- row service.
In a radio interview last week, Minister Ryan said, “I turned on the
radio every morning and heard that Shannon was top of the news. I’d just turn off the radio and go back to the beach and relax for the day so I had a lovely holiday. It was a great break.”
The minister’s remarks have pro- voked an angry reaction from Clare’s mayor, Cllr Patricia McCarthy and yesterday Cllr Meaney said, “Minis- ter Ryan’s remarks showed little sen- sitivity to the issue and to those who gave up their annual holidays to try to save the slots.”
Cllr Meaney said that Minister Ryan’s decision to relax on a beach
after hearing of the Shannon-Heath- row controversy reflected the attitude of the political establishment to the crisis last year.
Cllr Meaney said, “Minister Ry- an’s remarks were off the cuff and he could have chosen his words more or Nacsa veh Yam
Cllr Meaney said that the failure of the political establishment to act on the Shannon issue reinforces his belief that there is a certain indiffer- ence to the mid-west from Dublin.
In the aftermath of the Aer Lingus decision during the summer, Cllr Meaney said that he is considering
his future within the Greens and he confirmed yesterday that he hasn’t made his mind up on his future.
He said, “The Shannon-Heathrow controversy precipitated my thinking about my future within the Greens and other issues that will affect my decision include how the Greens view the upcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.”
Cllr Meaney said that there was very little that the Government could have done on the Shannon-Heathrow issue in the face of the Aer Lingus management transferring the slots by stealth.