John Downing: Lifting of Dublin Airport passenger cap another example of Government listening to outside powers, rather than to the public

Micheál Martin is being urged to sort the issue before his trip to meet Donald Trump. Photo: Getty

Belated efforts to abolish the 32 million passenger cap at Dublin Airport were more motivated by fears of Washington reprisals against Irish airlines than strong government decision-making here.

That lamentable situation of decisions driven by outside forces is evident in other key sectors, such as power and water provision, housing supply and defence under-investment.