Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has said she is very concerned with the response of Minster Michael McGrath regarding the chaotic scenes at Dublin Airport last weekend.

Ms McDonald, who raised the issue at Leaders Questions today, added that the government is failing to get a grip on the situation.

Teachta McDonald said:

“Nothing Minister McGrath said today would give the public any confidence that the Government is on top of the crisis at Dublin Airport. 

“Instead of concrete solutions, what we got from the Minister was a roll call of all the things that clearly haven’t worked. 

“People who plan on travelling from the airport this June Bank Holiday Weekend will be very worried that they will face a repeat of last weekend’s chaos.

“The staff layoffs by the Dublin Airport Authority during the pandemic and the failure to do the necessary workforce planning is at the heart of this situation. 

“The DAA was warned that these cuts would have a serious impact when international travel reopened. These warnings were ignored. 

“However, when we are dealing with a near collapse in the operation of the most important airport in the state, it is the responsibility of the government to take command and drive solutions.

“We cannot have a repeat of last weekend’s fiasco. It is the job of the government, working with the Airport Authority, to ensure the effective operation of Dublin Airport. This is an unprecedented situation. Instead of passing the buck, the government must show leadership.”