Fine Gael Minister insists it is possible for him to have a purely social dinner meeting with airline chief
Ryanair's Michael O'Leary and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe: Mr Donohoe does not describe himself as being friends with Mr O’Leary and says when they dined together they both paid their 'fair share'. Photographs: Collins/Dara Mac Dónaill, with Mr Donohoe’s spokeswoman saying it was a private dinner and that no business matters were discussed, and neither were matters of policy or regulation.
Election 2024 live updates: Testy exchanges between Claire Byrne and Mary Lou McDonald, Simon Harris pours cold water on proposed allianceMr Donohoe was minister for finance and president of the Eurogroup at the time. Asked at a press conference on Friday if it was possible for a person holding those roles to have a purely social meeting with the boss of Europe’s biggest airline, he insisted “Yes it is.
Mr Donohoe said he would not describe himself as being friends with Mr O’Leary and, when asked who paid, he said: “I recollect – I mean the dinner happened over two years ago – it happened in the same way that any other dinner I go along to that’s a social event.Mr O’Leary at the launch of Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke’s campaign
Fine Gael is promising improved security measures in the city centre with increased CCTV coverage and a targeted response to reduce open drug use. The party says it will fund 6,000 new Garda recruits nationally over the next five years.
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