Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has to deal with issues concerning regional airports. We could all talk about regional imbalance and even what happened in Dublin last year. The committee invited a number of commentators in here, including Mr. Willie Walsh. He spoke in a general sense but was very straight about solutions that would work for Shannon. I say that because sometimes we, in here, have probably simplified things and asked for flights to be almost displaced from Dublin Airport. I am not sure that it is possible to displace them because Dublin Airport will always remain a hub. I hope that I recall the words of Mr. Walsh correctly when I say that I think the idea that one could literally fly in was mentioned. Obviously a point to point service works. The more point to points an airport gets the better and increasing them can be relatively simple. I do not know what would happen beyond such a service but maybe it is a connection with another hub. Again, that is a hub and one is not displacing flights that are already flying from Dublin. I assume that all of these aspects will form part of the conversation and we must ensure it is put together. The issues probably get over simplified when politicians speak, issue press releases or whatever.