Taoiseach Micheal Martin has insisted Eamon Ryan is “not asleep at the wheel” and is handling issues at Dublin Airport caused by the cold snap.
Independent TD Mattie McGrath said if the Transport Minister is not asleep, “he’d want to be defrosted” to deal with the issue ahead of the busy festive period. It comes following widespread issues at the airport in the last number of days that have seen hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled due to the cold weather.
The cold snap saw some passengers sitting on planes for up to six hours on Friday. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Taoiseach in the Dail that Minister Ryan needed to deal with the issue now so that the hectic scenes seen last summer are not repeated this Christmas.
Read more: 'I travelled through Dublin Airport during cold snap mayhem - here is what you need to know'
She said: “We have a right to expect the part of the contingency planning for winter time as a major European airport would be a plan to keep flights going during a cold snap. Yet it seems that planning for de-icing of aircraft or runways was only an afterthought as management was taken by surprise.
“Once again, we see authorities scramble around rather than being prepared for a scenario that was entirely foreseeable. In the summer the failure to plan in Dublin Airport brought chaos. The situation, as you recall, spiralled out of control because Minister Ryan failed to get to grips with the crisis.
“Now it seems that Minister Ryan is asleep at the wheel again.
“Christmas is the busiest time of the year at Dublin Airport. Approximately one million people will pass through the airport during the holidays. The only scenes that we should see at Dublin Airport at Christmas time are scenes of joy and happiness and reconnection.
“Minister Ryan must wake up and do his job to ensure that Dublin Airport runs properly.”
In response, the Taoiseach insisted several times that Mr Ryan was awake. He also said that Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien who is part of the National Emergency Coordination Group “is also wide awake”.
He added: “We do need to make sure that capacity exists within Dublin Airport in terms of enough deicing capacity and preparing for extreme weather events. There’s an obligation on the agencies to be prepared and to respond to situations like this.
“Dublin Airport isn’t the only airport that has had problems.”
He continued: “Could I reassure deputy [McDonald] that Eamon Ryan is not asleep at the wheel? I can definitely assure the house that he is anything but fast asleep at this particular juncture.”
Senior Government sources told the Irish Mirror the problems at Dublin Airport did not stem from the DAA and were due to airlines not having enough de-icer. It is understood up to eight pieces of additional de-icer equipment have now been procured for use there.
Read more: Ireland experiences coldest temperatures on record since 2010
Meanwhile, Mr Ryan has warned energy bills and prices will not fall significantly for the next year or two. Householders have been fit with sky high bills in recent months, with numerous energy and gas suppliers hiking their bills multiple times.
Companies have said they have been forced to put up their prices due to the war in Ukraine. However, multiple companies have also had record profits. Speaking at the launch of the new Energy Poverty Action Plan, Minister Ryan said that while wholesale prices had fallen slightly, they have started to increase again in recent weeks.
“A lot of this is complicated because a lot of companies bought forward or would have hedged against some of the prices. My expectation, unfortunately for the next year, two years, is we’re not going to see a significant reduction in interest in prices.
“I think that’s the expectation across Europe across the International Energy Agency.
“It’s due to international factors, non-domestic factors. If that changes, and the war [in Ukraine] comes to an end, you might see some differences. The possibility of that at this moment is very low.”
Minister Ryan later said it is unclear if this will lead to even higher bills for customers, as “each energy supplier has a different circumstance.” He added: “You cannot be certain what any one energy company would do.
“But my expectation is the majority of the past higher gas prices has already been put into the bills.
“Depending on what happens in the gas markets, I don’t expect we’ll see these sorts of increases we saw in the last six months.”
As part of the Energy Poverty Action Plan, a new €10million fund will be put in place to help those struggling with bills. It will mostly apply to those on “pay as you go” systems.
People must contact their suppliers and they will then be given a voucher to put into their meters.
There are currently around 200,000 people in arrears on their energy bills. Minister Ryan said how much each person will receive will depend on personal circumstances, as well as on demand.
Read more: Met Eireann issues orange warning as 'severe' frost and ice grip Ireland
This fund will “bolster” other supports already put in place by other companies, Minister Ryan said.
He also insisted that he is satisfied with the supports being put in place by electricity companies who are People have also been told to contact the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), St Vincent de Paul or Alone, who provide financial advice and can advocate on their behalf to suppliers.
Minister Ryan also received Cabinet permission to extend the definition of ‘vulnerable customers’ to include people who are financially vulnerable, to ensure they can avail of additional consumer protections.
This will include those in receipt of Fuel Allowance, Job Seekers Allowance for over six months, Working Family Payment, One-Parent Family Payment, Domiciliary Care Allowance or Carers Allowance.
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