The low-fares British airline EasyJet would come to Dublin if the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, gave the go-ahead for the new Pier D facility, workers from Aer Rianta claimed yesterday.
Appearing before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport, two union representatives and one worker director said the best way to encourage competition was to give the green light to Pier D.
The three men outlined their strong opposition to the plans of Transport Minister, Mr Brennan to open the way for a private terminal on or near Dublin Airport land.
Mr Dermot O'Loughlin, of SIPTU, said Pier D, which is currently on hold, was the best way to bring in more tourists and attract low-cost carriers.
However, his colleague Mr Barry Nevin, SIPTU Branch president at the airport, said Ryanair would not allow competition to flourish at the airport.
He accused the airline of driving Go airlines out of the Irish market and said the company had a large "war chest" to use against any other competitors.
Referring to chief executive of Ryanair, Mr Michael O'Leary, Mr O'Loughlin said: "He doesn't want competition if the truth be told."
Mr Peter Dunne, an Aer Rianta worker director, accused Ryanair of not giving the full picture of the relationship between the two companies.
"We have given 60 million in discounts and promotional support to Ryanair since 1989. That needs to be mentioned."
"We also helped them when they were about to close. They were in trouble and Aer Rianta saved them," he said.
In their presentation, they claimed Cork and Shannon airports would not be viable on their own.
Mr O'Loughlin said if the three airports operated independently, airport charges at Shannon and Cork would have to be twice or three times those in Dublin, otherwise the airports could not survive.
"Dublin Airport would gobble up Cork or Shannon in the end," said Mr O'Loughlin.
But he said the worst impact would be on Aer Rianta's value. "The value of Aer Rianta would be absolutely annihilated," he said.
However, he said the workers were not against all competition or any changes. "We don't want to be seen as members of the flat earth society," he said.
