I think it is unfair to blame the unions for this one WD, to me it looked like Bertie got rid of him because he was afraid of loosing votes in north Dublin.
It's a shame that by far the most capable CEO of any semi-state body has been lost. There is a precedent for this though, wasn't Eddie O'Connor sacked as head of Bord Na Mona because he bought some wine for the board of directors and earned more than a civil servant should. The fact that he turned a turf cutting operation into a vibrant and sustainable company didn't come into it. Now he runs Airtricity and is worth millions. As far as I remember it was then Minister Michael Lowry who was, according to himself, "cleaning up the cosy cartels in the semi-state sector."that gave him the push. The Labour party hated him because he wanted to privatise the company.
Nice to see that putting short term political gain ahead of long term national interest is a cross party phenomenon.