Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go maith ... I will start again. Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirleach. That is the effect of a Billy Bragg concert and being out a little too late last night I suspect.

I want to raise the issue of Shannon Airport. A very good report was launched several weeks ago. I attended the launch along with my colleague, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan. It is a report by Oxford Economics that shows the value of Shannon Airport. More important perhaps, it calls for a change in aviation policy. I understand from the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, who attended on the date, that there is a review of aviation policy. It cannot come soon enough. I hope the Leader will appreciate the point I will make about her local airport in Knock.

The report clearly calls out the fact that at present there is an unfair playing field with regard to Dublin Airport. It calls out the major resources Dublin Airport has at its disposal which means it can out-compete the likes of Shannon Airport. In a country this small we should not have our airports competing with each other. It does not make sense. We need a strategic policy to rebalance aviation in favour of the west. Anyone who uses Dublin Airport regularly, as many of us do, knows how congested it is. We cannot even get parking there. Meanwhile, there is great capacity in Shannon Airport and other airports in the west. Right now, when we have pitted Shannon Airport in direct competition with Dublin Airport, it is a winner-take-all scenario. It does not make sense, including for the people of Dublin. I call for a debate on this.

I am a little surprised that the Minister Deputy Ryan has not tackled this issue. There are great environmental benefits to transferring and rebalancing aviation to the west. It is an issue he has not been prepared to touch. Approximately three years ago we had a very good debate in the House on this topic. We reached agreement on the fact that it is something that needs to be addressed but we are still waiting for this to happen.

I pay tribute to James McClean, who played his last game for Ireland last night. He has 111 caps for Ireland and he has scored 11 goals. I remember when he transferred from Derry to Sunderland he was like a breath of fresh air. He plays, as he lives his life, with great courage. He never hides. He is a brilliant courageous footballer and leader on and off the field. He had to put up with abuse over the fact that on principle he would not wear a poppy and he still gets this abuse when he plays today. He has always carried himself with dignity. He has always made his case in the most principled fashion. He has earned the admiration of all of us. After a tremendous career with Ireland he bade it farewell last night. It is important that we recognise his work and the type of character he is. He has shown great generosity to many charitable causes also. He is a real ambassador for sport and for our country and I salute James McClean today.