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by Fearghal O'Connor

Ryanair will not establish a maintenance base at Dublin Airport and 500 engineering jobs will instead go to Prestwick in Scotland and one other European airport, a statement from the airline says.

• Was the Hangar 6 saga nothing more than a property play? Read our analysis here.

The statement blames the Government for the failure to win the jobs. It claims that the offer of investment was ignored because the Government didn’t want to "upset the DAA monopoly."  

"Aer Lingus has now moved into H6, but instead of creating jobs Aer Lingus will shortly cut 900 more jobs at Dublin Airport," it said.
 
The Ryanair statement confirmed that it will now finalise a deal with another European government/airport.  The statement says that it is a damning indictment of the current Irish Government that "one of Ireland’s few world leading companies has not been encouraged, or assisted, to secure these 500 engineering jobs here in Ireland."
 
Ryanair spokesperson Stephen McNamara claimed that the current Government is incapable of maintaining or creating jobs.

"Its failure last year to encourage the world’s largest international airline to create up to 500 engineering jobs in Hangar 6 at Dublin Airport is typical of its indecision and incompetence," he said.
 
“The refusal to sell or lease Hangar 6 to Ryanair in 2009 proves that this Government prefers to protect the DAA monopoly who subsequently allowed Aer Lingus to move into the facility, an airline with no heavy maintenance in Ireland and no use for such a large hangar, and which is cutting up to 900 jobs."
 
“Ryanair will now move to finalise a deal with one of the other European Governments and airports who are interested in securing these engineering jobs and are working with Ryanair to sustain investment and jobs at their airports instead of waffling on about the 'complexities' and 'barriers' to job creation like Ireland’s dithering and incompetent Government”.