IALPA and Aer Lingus were back in the Labour Court yesterday and a recommendation by the Court is anticipated. The airline and its parent company IAG had continued to link the ongoing dispute to some theatrical uncertainty about the deployment of the new long-distance Airbus model to Aer Lingus, so the Indo reports that the company "was unable to confirm...if it will be the launch customer for a new generation of Airbus aircraft as a pilot pay dispute saw it miss a deadline on Sunday for painting the new jet in the carrier’s livery."
Sticking with aviation and the Indo, Gordon Deegan reports that pre-tax profits at AirNav Ireland increased by 71pc to €20.44m last as it benefited from the continued post-Covid recovery of air travel. The same report says staff were compensated last year for cuts made during the pandemic, sharing a "€4.1m once-off compensation payout."
In last Saturday's Irish Times, the latest Sign of the Times survey, published by Ipsos B&A, revealed that Irish people feel like they're "run ragged, stressed by the social media screeching from the far right and struggling with an enduring cost-of-living crisis."
Yesterday's snapshot poll again saw housing top of mind for respondents, making it the most salient issue "by a considerable margin" with a strong focus on "a lack of houses, high prices and the struggles of a generation to get on the ladder," clearly surpassing health as the nation's main worry.
Zen
30th April, 1994, the Point Depot, Dublin. The Eurovision Song Contest. Ireland very much in the swing of winning it at that stage, and indeed, we were to claim the title once again.
But the country (and and a global audience of 300 million) was stopped in its tracks by the interval act, a dance piece scored by Bill Whelan, featuring Anúna and a couple of Irish American dancers. Some sort of spell was cast. And it's still touring. Ladies and gentlemen...30 years of Riverdance. God help us.
Like