Tribunals, ash clouds and potholes

Tuesday, 19 April 2011 13:44

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How bizarre can events become? After 14 years the Moriarty inquiry into the alleged wrongdoings of a few high-powered individuals has come to a conclusion, 14 years of investigations and millions of euros of taxpayer's money squandered.
People wondered why it didn't continue for another nine years, which would make it the quarter century tribunal, the longest tribunal ever to have taken place. All hands are now on deck to investigate the outcome. All the government agencies who are upholders of law and order on our little island will investigate. Why did they not investigate wrongdoing when the wrongdoings first raised its ugly head?

What's the purpose in having a police force, a criminal assets bureau, fraud squad, revenue inspectors and collectors if they are not allowed to do their jobs? They are now being asked to look into events that may or may not have taken place over 14 years ago.
After 14 years witnesses may have forgotten, others may be dead and others couldn't care less. So what was the point of the whole exercise? Was it jobs for the boys who would discuss the situation and come to a verdict that they could do little about other than pass on its findings to a higher authority to act on second hand information? It was obvious that the tribunal might not be in a position to bring in a "don't know" result after all the money that was squandered over the 14 years.

Another thing it proves is that the people who set up and investigated it had little concerns as to the cost to the taxpayer when they failed to establish an appropriate and reasonable scale of legal fees. There appeared to have been no closing date and no expense spared. The figure of €39 million in legal fees is a disgrace and should be investigated. Could they not have conducted another enquiry at the same time and let all the Joe Soaps of this world know how it cost €39 million in legal fees which we would all like to know.
What will the whole exercise prove? The same old story: "that things like this should never be allowed to happen again". How often have you heard that story before and how often has it not happened again? We probably need to get our house in order and get up to date with the realities of what may or may not happen.

It all looks set to be another marathon court battle for compensation and appearance with millions more of taxpayers monies dished out to legal eagles. It may keep the media occupied for the foreseeable future and drive us all around the bend.
One person who won't be drove around the bend is Ryanair's Michael O'Leary. While I'm not a major fan of Ryanair you have to hand it to them for their fight back attitude. Recently the European Aviation Authority suggested that airlines reimburse travellers who missed flights because of strikes, the famous ash cloud disruption and other events, Ryanair hit back with a €2 surcharge on every passenger who uses Ryanair in 2011.
If they didn't take this action they would be at a loss of €100 million, a figure that would sink many businesses. If the authorities introduce rules for airlines that inconvenience customers through no fault of the airline is it fair to ask them to pay up? Should people travelling to an airport who miss their flight because of lengthy roadworks on our national roads not be reimbursed by the local authorities?

Should bus drivers who are delayed en route to the airport, through no fault of their own, not be obliged to reimburse customers? So why should there be one rule for airline operators and no rules for others? Probably because these scenarios seldom happen on a large scale and, secondly, regulators may feel happy fighting for the consumer against the big operators, who we all love to hate.

Unfortunately like the banking crisis no one is a winner now because Ryanair has hit back with the €2 surcharge and, in all fairness, it's hard to blame them. They need to stay in business; they need returns and dividends for their shareholders. Being one of the biggest airlines in the world they can set their price and when the regulator tried to put in what may be unreasonable rules, Ryanair know how to hit back.
So next time you hit a pot hole on the road and burst your tyre, you are entitled to be compensated by the people who are in charge of keeping our roads in a safe and roadworthy condition. I can't promise you will get your money but there is no harm in looking for restitution or checking with the European Roads Authority what your rights are. I'm sure they are enshrined in the archives of some EU office hoping no one will ever ask to see them.