Fine Gael's Paschal Donohoe urged to 'come clean' on meeting with Michael O'Leary

Fine Gael minister Paschal Donohoe has insisted that no government business was discussed during an undisclosed personal dinner with Ryanair Chief Michael O’Leary.

He also stated that the cost of the meal was split.

The Irish Times reported earlier this week that Mr Donohoe and Mr O’Leary held a “private and previously undisclosed dinner meeting at an upmarket Dublin restaurant” in February 2022. It was not included in his ministerial diary, which is published regularly, nor was the dinner detailed in a return to the lobbying register.

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Speaking in Dublin on Friday morning, Mr Donohoe insisted that no official business was discussed. He also said he would not refer to Mr O’Leary as a “friend”.

“Any matter that ever refers to government business is dealt with in the right way,” he said. “Any meeting that I have with anybody that refers to government business is recorded and it's published in my diary.

“We talked about very general matters. But if any issue in relation to government, business, regulation or policy had been dealt with, that would have been recorded and it would have been dealt with in the same way that every other engagement that I do.” When asked who paid for dinner, Mr Donohoe said, “We all paid our fair share”.

Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said on Friday that Mr Donohoe needed to “come clean” on his meeting with Mr O’Leary.

“Paschal Donohoe is the Minister for Public Expenditure and Michael O'Leary is a business figure who is regularly seeking to influence government policy,” he said. “It is important for the Irish people to know whose interests their government really serves.

“So far, Paschal Donohoe has failed to shed light on the details of a private - and previously undisclosed - dinner meeting which he attended with Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary in February 2022. We have now been told by Fine Gael that no records were kept of the meeting as no actions were taken arising from it. That's not good enough.”

This is the second time Mr O’Leary has featured in Fine Gael’s election campaign. He hit headlines earlier this month over comments he made about teachers at Peter Burke’s campaign launch.

Fine Gael launched its new policy for Dublin in the IFSC on Friday. The party said it wanted to “transform Dublin City Centre into a more vibrant, safer and more attractive destination in which to live, work, open a business and to welcome tourists”. This included improved security measures in the city centre with increased CCTV coverage and a “targeted response” to reduce open drug use.

Fine Gael also says it will develop the GPO, provide funding and resources to enhance the National Concert Hall and remove the passenger Cap at Dublin Airport.

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