Ryanair Compensation

Hi There,

Hoping for some help here. My mother and MIL were due to fly on a flight from Faro to Dublin last September with Ryanair. However, due to a staff strike by Ryanair staff, the flight was cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.

We contacted Ryanair customer service and they advised the following:

"In case if a refund or re-route with our airline within 7 days of your cancelled flight is not an option for you, you can book a ticket with one of the following suppliers for example and the price of the ticket will be reimbursed for you:

EasyJet
AerLingus"

Ryanair were unable to accommodate them on a suitable alternative flight (they needed to be back in Dublin on the day their original flight was due to arrive) and so they had to book alternative flights, via Londo, to Dublin. Upon submitting the compensation claim to Ryanair, we got the following response:

"Our records show that you had the possibility to be re-
accommodated on an alternative Ryanair flight on the same route; however, you chose to
book a new flight with another airline company. In the light of the above, we regret we cannot accede to your refund request for alternative
transportation in this case."

I have tried following up with them, attaching screenshots of the conversation with their customer service agent where we were told we could book with a different airline and be compensated for it, but they are refusing to budge.

I cannot find anywhere to take this further. The flightrights.ie website suggested contacting the aviation authority of the country where the flight was due to depart (Portugal). I did this and never received anything back from them.

Does anyone have experience in this type of situation? Any suggestions on how to proceed? the parents are out of pocket over €750 as a result of this.

Thanks.