A boycott of Ryanair was called for by the Democratic Left spokesman on transport, Mr Eamon Gilmore, during a debate on aviation. Other deputies were also sharply critical of the management's handling of the industrial dispute. Mr Gilmore said the travelling public, who were Ryanair's customers, should take a stand. "The Ryanair workers need our support. The time has come for the public to boycott Ryanair. People should refuse to travel on Ryanair until it agrees to go to the Labour Court to settle this dispute. "State bodies, companies, community, social and sporting organisations, as well as individuals, should place their business elsewhere for as long as Ryanair insists on being an unfair airline."

The Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke, reiterated the Government's view that Ryanair's refusal to attend the Labour Court was "disappointing". "The Labour Court intervention represented an opportunity for the parties to state their case to an independent third party.

"I think we can all acknowledge the impressive record of the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court in assisting parties in an industrial dispute situation to reach a settlement of their differences. I am aware that the court intends to keep the matter under review and I would urge Ryanair to accept the Labour Court's offer to facilitate the parties in any way," she said.

Mr Gilmore said Ryanair's success was facilitated by an economic and social climate over the past decade which was enshrined in an understanding between business, trade unions and government, and which was known as social partnership.

"The deal basically means that workers moderate their wage demands; avoid going on strike except as a last resort; that the industrial relations machinery such as the Labour Court and the Labour Relations Commission are used to settle disputes; and that government and individual employers treat their workers fairly and with respect.

"On every single count, Ryanair has broken the deal. While lowpaid workers in Ryanair and elsewhere were making do with tiny increases in pay, the directors of Ryanair were stuffing themselves with bonuses plundered from their own company prior to flotation.

"The chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary, alone helped himself to £17 million over the three years, and the directors together took almost £24 million between 1995 and flotation. The bonuses alone would pay the wages of all of the baggage handlers together for the remainder of their working lives.

"When the baggage handlers decided to seek the professional help of a trade union in having their own pay examined, what was the response of the company? They have refused to have the matters at issue put before the Labour Court, and they have been responsible for a dispute which the baggage handlers tried to avoid and which is now becoming more bitter by the day."

Mr Gilmore asked if the Ryanair investors were aware that "the chief executive of their company is now spending his time in the baggage hall, lugging bags and behaving like a champagne lout to his workers, instead of addressing the new competitive challenges which are on the way in Irish and European aviation industry."

The Fine Gael deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen, said the dispute was damaging to the morale of the other trade union members working at the airport and damaging to the national interest. The Constitution upheld the right of citizens to form associations and unions, which was something that was cherished.

She was amazed that Ryanair was "showing such a cavalier approach to a request from its workers".

The Labour spokesman on public enterprise, Mr Emmet Stagg, condemned Ryanair and asked Mr O'Leary: "Who do you think created the £15 million you have taken out of the company in recent times? It was the workforce. Do you not agree that the workers in your company are entitled to a share of the wealth they have created and to have professionals of their choice to negotiate a fair share of that wealth on their behalf?"