2. These are the people responsible for giving Ireland a third world airport in Dublin which is arguably one of the biggest self-inflicted messes in the world. And there is no use blaming anyone else for the mess. It is totally the fault of the Board of Directors and who do nothing. Let’s Look at the Board.

3. Gary Mc Gann is Chairman of Cork Airport (and Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport). He is the ideal person for running the Dublin Airport Authority which loses its shirt and costs the taxpayer a fortune. When Group Chief Executive of Aer Lingus from 1994 to 1998 I seem to recall it lost millions and millions and he did sweet damn all about it, just as he is now doing about Dublin Airport. He is director of two dissolved companies. Wonder what happened them? He is director of 16 companies so where does he get time for Dublin and Cork Airports? Interestingly he lists the purpose of Dublin Airport as Space Travel. He sure lives in space! To be fair he is totally frustrated, keeps his head low and does nothing. He is totally incompetent - but one of the boys.

4. Next Oliver Cussen. A civil servant until he joined Aer Rianta and who never had to fight to make a bob in his life. No airport experience of course. Never worked in an airport in his life. I would say that his main claim to fame is that he has been on the Board of Great Southern Hotels which is arguably insolvent, run like a lunatic asylum and losing its shirt. Totally incompetent.

5. Colm Barrington comes with an impressive pedigree from GPA. That outfit was run by lunatics who finally went spectacularly broke in a big way so he has vast experience of another outfit that went spectaularly bankrupt because he and his co-managers were totally blind to the fact that the emperor - otherwise known as GPA - had no clothes or if they knew were afraid to say so. I quote from his resume: “As Chief Operating Officer, GPA Group plc (1992-1993), he was responsible for all operational aspects of the company”. “All”, mark you and they went spectacularly broke! Good for him! Of the 32 companies he is or was a director, 16 have either gone spectacularly broke or met a sticky terminal ending. He certainly knows how to help a terminal ending in Cork!

6. Mary Davis is National Director of the Special Olympics of Ireland. Just what we need in an airport director particularly one in Cork! She is current Chairperson of - wait for it - St. Patricks Festival. Excellent! Dublin Airport looks like the remains of a festival grounds after a festival and she should be right at home in the mess. What in Gods name is the director of Special Olympics Ireland doing on an airport board? She was a physical education teacher which will be very valuable in teaching the public to prepare for the olympic walk from the one airbridge terminal to either the Aer Arann aircraft parked in Carrigaline or Ryanair in Ballyphehane.Totally useless. If she had any integrity she would get the hell out of the board right now. Integrity? Don’t make me laugh!

7. Who next? Bill Cullen. A Renault expert who knows sweet damn all about airports. However he is a successful author which should give him some talent for writing fantasies otherwise known as the story of Dublin Airport. Brilliant and most useful background! I am so pleased that “its a Long Way from Penny Apples” has become an international bestseller but what in God’s name has that to do with running an airport? Another useless political appointee as they all are. He is also a director of, wait for it, Chicken Amazing Limited, no doubt named because he is too chicken to do anything about the amazing Cork Airport Terminal. I wonder what happened the five companies he was a director of which met a sticky ending not to mention the two which went into Receivership. Receivership generally only happens when a company goes broke.

8. Now we come to Declan Collier whose claim to fame is the Board of Great Southern Hotels Limited which despite the best hotel business in the country lost its shirt in a spectacular manner and had to be sold cheap because the board - of which he was a member - could not run it. Interestingly he does not mention Great Southern Hotels in his resume but I don't suppose that should be any surprise. Ideal for Dublin Airport.

9. Pat Fitzgerald from Co. Clare is a director of Goldswan Developments Limited which is in liquidation to avoid its obligations. It has been so illegally liquidated that no liquidator has been offically appointed as required by the Companies Acts yet it has avoided all its obligations to creditors. It failed to file any of its statutory returns since 2001 and Pat was responsible for this. In other words as bent a company as you can get yet he is now a director of a premier semi-state body. And if one were to believe the statutory filings he was a director of the Dublin Airport Authority from January 1, 1901 to January 1, 1902. For someone born in 1945 that is unique but he filed it so he was either lying or is reincarnated. He does say “Space Transport” in his filing as the purpose fo the 1901 transport and he has been in space ever since. Ideal for Cork.

10. Ah, now comes a real gem. Marie O’Connor, Audit partner with Price Waterhouse Cooper, the crowd who produce fraudulent accounts for CIE Group year after year. In CIE they did not even bother to check the assets much less the amount of cash going to the bank against what is taken in.

11. Allow me to list only one scandal involving Price Waterhouse Cooper. In December 2003 a U.S. judge signed a $54.5 million settlement between Price Waterhouse Cooper and its former clients, Warmack-Muskogee Limited Partnership who claimed they were overbilled by the accounting company for travel expenses.The plaintiffs were overcharged by as much as 50 percent. Its beginning to sound familiar is it not? “Defendants accomplished this overcharging by a stratagem that involved their negotiation of confidential relationships and arrangements with third-party travel vendors who provided defendants with invoices for travel costs or expenses, which did not reflect massive and secret kickbacks of as much as 40 percent”.

12. I further quote from the Court documents: “The kickbacks were remitted by such vendors to, and improperly retained by, defendants, rather than being returned to the clients who paid for the underlying cost”. The accounting firm used the amounts identified on the invoices provided by the vendors as the basis to seek “reimbursement” from their clients of alleged “out-of-pocket costs.” This included airlines, ticketing and reservations systems, hotels, car rental agencies, restaurants, travel agencies and credit card issuers. Of course there would never be kickbacks in Ireland, now would there?

13. So she comes from a firm of impeccable pedigree. If we are going to fiddle the accounts then why not get on the Board someone from a firm with vast experience of these techniques? She is absolutely perfect. They have also been involved in some rather, some people would say false, and fraudulent, audits of big companies and have been well censored internationally. An absolutely ideal background for the Dublin Airport Authority who has not a clue what they are doing about terminals, no idea what they will cost and much less what they will earn. Equally she is responsible for Cork Airport whose accounts are clearly fraudulent.

14. What did her firm do for the 275,000 euro which the Board of Cork Airport gave them last year? I have a sneaky feeling not very much. I don’t suppose the fact that her firm gets 275,000 euro per annum from Dublin Airport Authority would have any influence on her thinking. Perish the thought! She is an independent director naturally. Excuse me for a moment while I nearly die laughing. In my book if her firm of consultants are screwing the airport for 275,000 per annum then she has no place on the board.

15. OK, let’s accept the ridiculous notion that Marie O’Connor is competent for a moment. What has she done about the disastrous design of the new terminal at Cork Airport. What did she do when she was warned the concrete was defective? Don’t you think a prudent director would have at least asked what was the argument that it was defective? What consultations has she had with the users of the airport? Answers on a pin head please. To be fair there would not be much point doing any of those things as she would not have a clue, an essential item to be on the board of Cork Airport.

16. Marie O’Connor has no business on the board of Cork Airport and is involved in conflict of interest up to her neck. Equally she has no other board experience.

17. How about Des Cummins who is Chairman of the Cummins Group that employs - wait for it - over 50 people in two countries. This vast experience of staff will enable him to bring his fantastic expertise to bear on staff problems at Dublin Airport. He is also a member of Comhar, the National Sustainable Development Partnership, a totally useless outfit. Was a director of Liam Conway Limited which met a sticky ending. Wonder if that had anything to do with the fact that the Companies Office Record shows a total failure to file accounts. Now wonder where he put those accounts for Cork Airport?

18. Anthony Spollen was Head of Group Internal Audit at AIB which is very useful when you consider the absolutely immense losses in AIB that were racked up on his watch. Of course he neither noticed nor was responsible for them. Absolutely ideal for an outfit which has no system and racks up fantastic losses. It was reported to him that the great Readymix Plc - a bunch of gangsters also - were fiddling the concrete in the new terminal at Cork and that the building might fall down in ten years time. He elected to take no action. Now that is the type of guy we need. The sort that if all the toilets in the airport got stolen he would not investigate because he would have nothing to go on! Currently a director of a company Solaco Limited which having failed to file any accounts for the last four years also met a rather terminal ending.

19. Ah, but now we have the token expertise of none other than Sir Michael Hodgkinson, BART. - that BART really sounds good - savour it on your tongue by rolling it around - with vast experience of the motor and food industries in Europe. Maybe he could sort out the restaurants and maybe clean Dublin Airport up but he is an executive and does not dirty his hands. Wait for it, though! He had responsibility for expansion planning at BAA including Heathrow and Stansted. You may recall his planning for Heathrow for so perfect the airprt collapsed last year at one stage and is in a dreadul mess. On the other hand Dublin almost collapses very day so he is really well fitted.

For that matter he could not even be bothered going to 25% of the Board meetings of DAA. Well, I suppose if you do not go you cannot be blamed! What the hell are we doing with him on our board when he does not even go near Cork Airport? More than likely does not even know where it is!

20. I asked some staff at Cork Airport if they knew him. Not alone did they not know him, but they never even heard of him. Now that is what you call an active Director when he is so upper class he could not be bothered meeting the peasants of Cork whose lives he helps control. He calls it management without consultation. I call it no management.

21. Finally there is Brian Lynch, Marion Keating and Barry Nevin none of whom have any board experience on record.

22. These morons, ladies and gentleman are the people currently responsible for Cork Airport. Not one of them is competent and none have actually worked in an airport. Ally that with a Chief Executive, Pat Keohane, who knows nothing about the airport and you have a recipe for disaster. Dublin Airport Authority is a lunatic asylum run by the inmates aided and abetted by a moronic board. (Definition of a Moron : A lift operator who forgot his route!

THE CORK AIRPORT AUTHORITY

23. But if you think that shower are bad, you should see what a rum lot are coming in on the new board in Cork allegedly to run the 400 million euro airport. It would be hilarious if it were not serious. Its worth taking a look at their pedigree which takes some beating.

24. Who shall we start with? How about Humphrey St. Jude Murphy whose claim to fame lies in stainless steel, to wit Global Stainless. I need hardly say the training to supply stainless steel is absolutely invaluable to an airport. On the other hand he is Miceal Martins constituency organiser who gets rewarded with these plum jobs so as to be Mickeys eyes and ears. The fact that he is totally useless is of course completely irrelevant. Its called jobs for the Mickeys boys with a vengeance. And they do get fantastic travel perks! St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes. He is absolutely ideal for Cork Airport Authority.

25. Dear Humphrey has only been the director of four dissolved - did I hear the word “failed” somewhere? - companies. For example Global Metal Technology Limited never seemed to file any accounts in its ten years of existence.He was also company secretary so the responsible officer. Then there was the Dublin Dome Limited which also seemed to forget accounts. Bit like the London Dome maybe? I will not mention H & C Personalised Gifts Limited which never filed any accounts either.

26. Next we come to that eminent authority on airports Veronica Perdisant. She is Chairperson of the Kilkenny Group and cut her teeth in Ovens. What she is doing on the board is hard to imagine. Another know nothing. To be fair at one meeting after listening to 20 minutes of waffle by the Minister when she asked him who was going to pay for the airport she did try and pin him down but as she failed totally it appears to be the reason she has not been heard from since. Never did get an answer to that question, did she? Come on Veronica, are you not going to find out and tell us all? No board experience on record.

27. Now we have a real gem. Eoin Keane, fish exporter from Dingle. Cut his teeth working for Dingle Airport - Oh, I know Dingle does not exist but then neither does Dingle Airport - and his only claim to fame is that he is expert in objects that live in deep water and Cork Airport is in such deep water he should be a great help. Now you know why I think there is something fishy about the board. He’s not bad at the sticky ending company either. Two such.

28. Then we come to Don Cullinane. His travel agency has just recently gone broke so no doubt he needs the Board job but the fact that he has been involved in a failed travel company should be sufficient to bar him from the board of any semi-state. Its wrong and an insult to the people of Cork. And do you think he will resign? No bloody chance.

29. Next on the most useful list is Loretta Glucksman. Now Loretta Glucksman really is a nice lady - and I mean that - and she has done a lot for Cork and has been most generous giving millions to U.C.C. Presumably she is on the board so that the rest will try and ask her to make up the deficit over the new terminal, which is going to be pretty horrendous. But lets call a spade a spade. She knows nothing about airports so what is she doing on the board? I am amazed someone of her excellent reputation would stoop to want to be on Cork Airport Board as I doubt she needs the travel privileges. Of course it was a nice political way of thanking her for what she did for Cork but that is no way to run Cork Airport and I am surprised at her accepting it.

30. Of course we have Alf Smiddy who to be fair to him has an excellent record at Beamish. But what has it to do with airports? Sweet damn all. But for years he was wanted to be on a state body so now he got his opportunity. It’s amazing how the egos of these people are so huge that they can be so easily bribed.

31. Now about Pat Dalton. A well known gas expert, no doubt, with a vast experience of hot air. Now I just wonder if the Debis Air Finance group of which he is a director of a number of their companies could be the same Debis Air Finance that screwed EU Jet and left all the passengers abandoned. Another well known authority on airports, I don’t think! I could not find out anything he was famous for but he does like being on the board of a useless company. It makes him feel good.

32. Lastly we come to Joe Gantly, the Chairman whose ego is bigger than the rest of them put together. Another of these people who never talks to anyone.

33. The only reasonable thing about this board is that they have a number of airport workers who would have the airport at heart and will do their best but they simply do not have the experience to run a 400 million euro company, will be outsmarted by the others, and probably go native shortly after starting as all worker directors do. Anyhow, why a board of over a dozen people? It is unworkable.

34. He went off on a solo run and suddenly it was announced that he had done a fantastic deal with Ryanair which was going to achieve miracles for Cork Airport and which had two basic tenets: (a) Ryanair would make Cork Airport their new base and hopefully pay very low airport charges and (b) Aer Arann would be forced out of Cork Airport and hopefully out of business.

35. To say that Joe’s Board of Directors were miffed is an understatement as they were not even consulted but not one of them has the guts to object. The only people who could enter into such an agreement are the Dublin Airport Authority Board and they say they know nothing about it. In short, the deal is a fraud and a scam. There are of course no kickbacks (normally 10% in Ireland) involved. But it does seem strange that nobody has opened their mouth about the deal, especially Minister Cullen.

36. Just in case anyone involved in running the airport might try and tell them anything they have appointed a Manager, Pat Keohane, who while on the face of it has a good industrial track record, has absolutely zero airport experience. He is used to the private sector where nobody tells bosses what to do. I have news for him. As a manager in the public sector he must, I repeat, must, meet people who want to meet him, must, repeat must, answer questions, account for his actions to the public and show transparency in his dealings.

37. His approach so far does not inspire any confidence as he is setting about doing everything assways round - a bit like his terminal! And just to emphasise their lack of confidence in his ability they did not even let him near the Board. Sadly, they are probably very wise but the Airport Director should be on the board!

38. But why are we paying the Cork Airport Authority? No job, no power and do nothing. It’s crazy but nice if you can get it! What are they doing? They are making the Emperors New Clothes! And even worse, everyone of them is in breach of their statutory duty by having failed to have the companies accounts filed on time and thereby committing a criminal offence. Some bloody bunch!

In short God help us all in Cork at Cork Airport. We are set to be screwed unless someone can stop the Minister. Send your comments on this to busmuseum@hotmail.com or alternatively take a look at the website www.kellstransportmuseum.com

Dr. Michael Grimes,
Grianan House,
Tramore Road,
Cork.
Ireland.
087-240-5550.
January 24, 2006.

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