James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their contributions. We heard earlier from the airlines and we are hearing now from those working in the airports and the aviation sector on the ground. Something we heard a lot about today is demand, to which Ms Considine also referred. An issue of great concern to me, and I hope to the witnesses as well, is the toxic aspect that has developed around aviation in Ireland, which has not happened in other European countries. It is something we need to tackle. I am sure the public at large will read what has been said here today by the representatives of the aviation industry in Ireland, and see the extraordinary measures they have taken to ensure that aviation is safe again and to ensure we can get planes back in the air and passengers through our airports. That is the key message that needs to come out of today's meeting.

Another important message is that the Government must now realise, after hearing all the evidence given to this committee, that it has to take action to commence pre-departure testing and antigen testing. I certainly will be talking to the Taoiseach and to the Minister for Transport following the appearances at this committee. This is critical and we need to champion it, as a country.

Ireland is incredibly dependent on the aviation sector for its economy and society. As many as 140,000 jobs are supported by the aviation sector in Ireland, which means 140,000 incomes for families across the country. It is time that people started to look with some degree of perspective at how important the sector is to this country. We cannot afford to make any more mistakes. I thank the witnesses for the information given but it is time for the Government to act. I will allow in Deputy Crowe to conclude.