
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary on track for €100m bonus
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary is on track to receive more than €100m million euros worth of share bonuses.
The longstanding boss has qualified for the share options after shares in the Dublin-based company hit a six-year-old target.
Shares in the budget airline have met a requirement to close above €21 for a 28th consecutive day.
The share rule was set up in February 2019, requiring the consistently high level of shares before 2028.
Ryanair shares sat at 23.28 euros on Friday (Peter Byrne/PA)
It would provide him with 10 million shares worth around €111.2m.
Mr O'Leary will receive the share package if he stay with the business, which he has led since 1994, until 2028.
Ryanair shares sat at €23.28 on Friday despite dipping slightly from their peak the previous day.
Ryanair has been contacted for comment.
When asked about the share option earlier this month, Mr O'Leary said: 'I think we're delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when Premiership footballers and managers are getting paid 20-25 million a year.
'I think Ryanair shareholders are getting a particular value out of our share options – both mine and the rest of the management team.'
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The Irish Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
One of the world's busiest airports reveals plans for new £7billion mega terminal with 50million more passengers
A HUGE new mega terminal is set to transform one of the world's best airports. 6 A new major terminal is to transform Changi Airport Credit: KPF/ Heatherwick Studio/Changi Airport Group 6 Indoor gardens and glass roofs are the main features of Terminal 5 Credit: KPF/ Heatherwick Studio/Changi Airport Group 6 The new terminal will also have public transport links to the city centre Credit: Getty Known for having the world's biggest indoor waterfall as well, the major airport has revealed plans to open a new Terminal 5. Also called It will also allow flights to connect The new terminal will be connected to Terminal 2, and will be the base of Read more on airports Vertical gardens with indoor trees and plant areas will be throughout the terminal, which also has huge glass roofs and walls to let in as much daylight as possible. And a former military runway will become the airport's third runway used by commercial jets, and increased from 1.7miles to 2.5miles. Contactless touchpoints and automated check ins will speed up the process of travelling from landside to gate. The new designs have been created by British-based Heatherwick Studio, behind UK projects such at Coal Drops Yard and BT Tower in London. Most read in News Travel This is alongside American architecture firm KPF, behind Thomas Heatherwick, design director of Heatherwick Studio, said it will be full of "lush greenery and characterful districts that redefine what an airport can be". Inside the 'best airport in the world' following 3-year renovation - with 45ft 'waterfall,' indoor garden & robot bartender Work has already started on the 2,670 acre area, which will nearly double the current airport size. The new runway could open as soon as 2027, ahead of the full opening of the project. The terminal expects to fully open by the mid 2030s, costing around $10billion (£7.3bilion) according to The last new opening at Changi Airport was the entertainment and shopping district 6 The new terminal will welcome another 50million passengers Credit: KPF/ Heatherwick Studio/Changi Airport Group 6 T5 is expected to cost more than £7billion Credit: KPF/ Heatherwick Studio/Changi Airport Group And a It's not the only major airport expansion taking place right now. Dubai is opening the This will replace the current Dubai International Airport - which welcomes 92million passengers - which will close when the new airport is completed. Top 15 busiest airports in the UK Here are the 15 busiest airports in the UK by passenger numbers in 2023 London Heathrow - 79.2 million London Gatwick - 40.9 million Manchester - 28.1 million London Stansted - 28.0 million London Luton - 16.4 million Edinburgh - 14.4 million Birmingham - 11.5 million Bristol - 9.9 million Glasgow - 7.4 million Belfast International - 6.0 million Newcastle - 4.8 million Liverpool - 4.2 million Leeds Bradford - 4.0 million East Midlands - 3.9 million London City - 3.4 million And Here is the 6 The airport terminal will be open by the mid 2030s Credit: KPF/ Heatherwick Studio/Changi Airport Group


Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Fund set up by Micheál Martin 20 years ago to cut hospital waiting lists under fresh scrutiny
In February, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill became the latest Minister for Health to announce a new initiative to reduce the amount of time patients have to wait for treatment in public hospitals . The Irish health system has been struggling for years to deal with growing waiting lists with bed and staffing capacity lagging behind demand. The answer for successive governments has been to either use the private sector or to get existing personnel to do more in their own time, while the Health Service Executive moved to increase its own resources. The amount of money allocated to these initiatives has been staggering. The Minister's plan in February involved a €420 million investment, including €190 million for the HSE and €230 million for the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) – the organisation established by Micheál Martin 20 years ago to buy treatment for public patients. READ MORE Between 2022 and 2024 under Stephen Donnelly , about €1.23 billion was allocated to the HSE and the NTPF. Government funding was essentially spent in three ways. First, it allowed the HSE to appoint more staff to increase its own capacity. Second, it allowed the NTPF to buy care in private facilities. Third, it allowed for what is known as 'insourcing', where health service personnel are paid by the NTPF or other entities to provide treatment outside normal hours in public hospitals for those on waiting lists. A recent internal report carried out by children's healthcare group CHI , has led to more intense scrutiny of the various waiting list initiatives. The report alleged that a doctor had delayed operations on children before eventually they were treated at weekend clinics that he was operating separately. In the Dáil, the Taoiseach said the CHI report 'makes for shocking reading of the most profound kind, which not just goes to the heart of the misuse of NTPF funding but more seriously raises fundamental concerns at that time about safety for children receiving surgery'. Cian O'Callaghan of the Social Democrats told the Dáil that the report found the consultant earned more than €35,000 by keeping very young children on a waiting list for years. 'They were eventually treated using the NTPF when they were transferred to the consultant's weekend clinic, but they could have been treated by other doctors years earlier. When all of this was discovered, it was kept a secret and the consultant was allowed to retire and sail into the sunset.' The Minister and HSE chief Bernard Gloster had been kept in the dark about the report but were given copies last week. There have been other controversies surrounding waiting list funding. On April 18th, Mr Gloster directed his senior leadership team to halt, for the present at least, aspects of the 'insourcing' arrangements. He commissioned a survey to establish the dependency of the health system on such practices and to ensure 'there were no unintended consequences'. Mr Gloster suspended insourcing where staff were 'engaged, hired or paid' by separate entities on initiatives in their area of work. Insourcing was only permitted in cases where the HSE directly engaged its own staff through payroll. His instructions followed discussions with Ms Carroll MacNeill and followed an internal audit report, details of which were revealed in The Irish Times last September. The HSE internal audit found two companies which received more than €1.5 million between them in contracts awarded by University Hospital Limerick without a competitive procurement process were owned or part-owned by employees at the facility. A third company, which received a contract of nearly €400,000, had a HSE employee at a different hospital as a director. Auditors stated €14.2 million was paid out to third-party providers by University Hospital Limerick in 2023 under the Government waiting list initiative without an open procurement process. Auditors said there was no evidence of the HSE employees being involved in the awarding of the contracts. In May, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín told the Dáil in one case a consultant created a firm to read scans and 'used the hospital public waiting lists to then funnel work through rostering into his own private company'. The NTPF said it was deeply concerned at the CHI internal report. It said it had never received any complaints about hospitals or doctors. Last year, the fund paid €155 million to private hospitals and about €80 million to public facilities. It seeks private hospitals to tender for packages of care and it then attempts to match this capacity with those waiting longest in public facilities. Sara Burke, associate professor of health policy at Trinity College, said the NTPF and the various waiting list initiatives were initially established more than 20 years ago as temporary measures while the State built up its own public capacity. They had, however, become permanent, integral parts of the system, she said. 'Given the amounts of money now being allocated, there is a need to look at how transparent the arrangements are and the governance of these schemes,' she said. The Opposition is now calling for reforms. David Cullinane of Sinn Féin said there were concerns about potential conflicts of interest and called for a centralised system which would see patients referred to a hospital rather than an individual consultant. 'We have to ask genuine questions about what work some consultants are doing from Monday to Friday to carry out public procedures. We need to contrast that with the so-called blitzes and private clinics they are organising and running, while charging €200 for each client they see and making very handsome amounts of money.' Marie Sherlock of the Labour Party said she was uncomfortable about how the current arrangements had grown, the dependency on it that had developed and 'the ability of the public system to wean itself off it'. Mr Tóibín questioned the safeguards in place against conflicts of interest. 'Last year 80,000 public patients were treated in private hospitals at a cost of €100 million. The majority of these treatments should have been done in the public system.' Ms Carroll MacNeill told the Dáil she would be taking further steps to remove the anomalies, which she said existed 'because of the overhanging mix of public and private activity'.


Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Like living near a helicopter': Residents fed up at takeaway delivery drones buzzing over their homes
Imagine you are sitting outside on a clear day with the sun shining and a motorbike goes straight through your back garden. That is how one resident in Blanchardstown described the noise of the delivery drone service that operates in the Dublin 15 area. The sound of the drones has been likened to a tractor or lawnmower and described as being louder than nearby cars. 'It disrupts the peace of my home,' one local woman said. Another resident said he was unable to work from home due to the noise. READ MORE Noel Powell, an IT engineer, described it as 'like living close to a helicopter'. He said he also had privacy concerns about the drones being fitted with cameras. The service has been in operation for more than a year and has divided opinion locally. Fingal County Council says it has received 25 complaints from locals regarding the drones since January 2024 to last January, with 18 primarily about the noise. The drone service, operated by Manna , delivers takeaways, coffee and a whole host of other items weighing 4kg or less from a base at the Junction 6 complex close to Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. The drones – which are white with red and green flashing lights – deliver food 'usually in less than three minutes' and can fly up to 16km, the firm's website says. They fly at an altitude of up to 70 metres and reach speeds of up to 80km/h. The company said drone carried cameras for safety reasons, to confirm that the delivery zone is clear of obstacles. The camera activates when the drone hovers 14m above the ground upon arrival at the delivery location. 'The camera does not record, store, or transmit any data. We are fully compliant with GDPR [data protection] regulations,' a Manna spokesman said. Manna has received just under 80 complaints and has made 170,000 deliveries in the Dublin 15 area so far, he said, saying the company has taken each complaint 'seriously and responded to directly'. Another resident, Séamus Doyle, said his biggest concern with the drones in his area was noise levels. 'Even living close to a busy road, the drones are worse,' he said. The drones no longer fly over his home after he asked the company for an overflight exclusion, but they do go over the back wall of his garden. Resident Séamus Doyle: 'I've a feeling Dublin 15 could survive without drones.' Photograph: Dan Dennison 'Last summer, there was one every 10 minutes and they fly over and back, so about 12 an hour at its busiest,' Mr Doyle said. He said the drones were louder than his neighbour's petrol lawnmower. 'I've a feeling Dublin 15 could survive without drones,' he said. Ann-Marie, who did not wish to give her full name, first found out the service was in her area when a drone went over her home for the first time. 'It was a shock. I didn't know what it was when it first went past,' she said. Like Mr Doyle, she told the company she did not want the drones flying over her house. Noise is one of the biggest concerns for her. It's interesting technology that could be used for social good, but it's for delivering takeaways 'I'm surprised at how loud they are: they're louder than cars near our house. It has a real impact on people,' she said. 'Maybe if it was delivering blood transfusions or medicine, but it's takeaways. It's interesting technology that could be used for social good, but it's for delivering takeaways.' On that issue, a Manna spokesman said the company was running trials 'to help deliver defibrillators as part of an emergency response'. Peter, a local resident who did not wish to give his full name, said he was not against drones, which had 'great potential and great uses'. Instead, he felt strongly about the Manna drone landing site at Junction Six, which is located '90 metres directly from a housing development'. 'My issue is seeing everyone's drone delivery. There could be 30 an hour. I can hear them from my back garden and in the kitchen,' he said. 'It's like a motorbike overhead, it's intrusive and really annoying.' Not all feedback on the drones is negative, though. For kids' parties, it's quite exciting to see the drone coming and the delivery bag dropping down Manna customer Kieran O'Sullivan started using the company's services a couple of months ago to deliver his takeaway once a week. He described the process as 'very easy' and said the drone delivery service was better than other delivery services such as bicycle or car as 'it's way quicker, the food is hotter and fresher'. Ian Downes, the chief executive officer of Kahuna Pops, said the delivery drone system had been 'absolutely incredible' for the ice lollies brand since it started using Manna last year. Customer feedback cited how 'unique and exciting' it was, he said. Ian Downes, chief executive of Kahuna Pops, which uses the drone service to deliver ice treats. Photograph: Dan Dennison 'For kids' parties, it's quite exciting to see the drone coming and the bag dropping down. It's quite fun and that matches our brand; popsicles are meant to be fun,' he said. Ted Leddy, Fine Gael councillor for the Castleknock area, said there were mixed views within the community. 'There was the shock element at first, but now there are legitimate concerns around safety and privacy.' Complaints 'come and go in waves', but remain 'consistent', he said. He felt that local authorities and the company needed to come together to inform locals on the rules of drones. John Burtchaell, a People Before Profit Solidarity Party councillor in the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart area, said he had received lots of complaints about the drones alongside 'one or two' positive messages about them 'being good and taking traffic off the road'. He describes it as a '50:1' ratio of those against the drones to those in favour. Manna says it is regulated to the highest standards by the Irish Aviation Authority 'Maybe if applications of drones were used for medication and emergency situations it would be important, but not McDonald's, coffee and doughnuts – it's not necessary.' John Walsh, Labour councillor for Castleknock, said he was 'concerned about the unrestricted use of delivery drones'. 'There are huge volumes of concerns. The only things I've heard more issues about are the housing crisis and the lack of school places,' he said. Councillor Walsh said a recent attempt by a criminal gang to drop a pipe bomb from a drone on its rivals in a housing estate in Finglas has deepened concerns. Labour Councillor John Walsh says regulations need improving. Photograph: Dan Dennison 'There is a gaping hole where regulation should be. Regulation has dragged massively behind innovation and technology,' he said. He said the current set-up was like 'cars on the road with no rules of the road, it's like the wild west'. 'The onus is on the Government to step up and local government to have authority to ensure democratic checks and balances are in system,' he said. Manna said it was 'regulated to the highest standards' by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. 'We undergo regular rigorous independent safety tests,' the spokesman said. An IAA spokesman said oversight and regulation of drone operations was risk-based. 'This means that the more complex the operation, the more restrictions and safety mitigations are required to ensure the safety of the public,' he said. The Department of Transport is working on a new policy framework for drones, which will set out strategy and priorities for the development of the sector in Ireland. A spokesman for the department said the framework was well advanced and was expected to be published in the coming months. Manna, which has plans to set up more sites in Dublin and Cork by the end of the year, said it welcomed all regulations and said it adhered 'to all those that we are required to'.