The public interest would not be served by allowing former EU commissioner Charlie McCreevy take up a post on the board of Ryanair, Green Party Senator Dan Boyle has said.
The European Commission revealed yesterday it was examining a request by Mr McCreevy to join the board of Ryanair, a company subject to seven state-aid inquiries by the Commission.
Mr McCreevy’s invitation to become a non-executive director post at the airline comes a little more than two months after his departure from Brussels.
Mr Boyle said today the proposal indicated the lack of any clear guidelines governing the type of position that senior policymakers could take up following their terms of office.
He said he hoped the commission would block the move, describing it as an “obvious example of a rotating door policy”.
“What is not in the public interest is Charlie McCreevy walking directly from the Berlaymont onto the board of Ryanair,” Mr Boyle said.
“The Green Party has always believed that there should be a cooling off period between the leaving of office – especially at national and European level – and the taking up of any related employment where that person would have had a decision-making role in the public interest,” he said.
The Ryanair board includes its chief executive Michael O’Leary, Davy stockbroker Kyran McLaughlin and former head of solicitors AL Goodbody James Osborne.
Mr McCreevy would not be the first retired commissioner to join the board – Ray MacSharry, former agriculture commissioner, also served on its board.
In the year to March 2009, the airline’s non-executive directors received €32,000 or €47,000. They are also entitled to share options.