Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Scollan, Mr. Gilmore and Deputy O'Mahony for facilitating the meeting. There has been much discussion this morning about the subsidy. How many people are working in the airport? What has the airport paid in employers' PRSI in the past number of years? It is building a substantial retail presence. What VAT has been gone through the airport? The airport is a substantial employer in the county, and these people are all paying taxes so let us put that return against the subsidy and we might have a real discussion.

Deputy Mulherin spoke about the lack of a national aviation strategy. If there was to be such a strategy, which one would have thought might have been designed before this decision was made, what specific niches would the delegation identify for the airport? What focus would the delegation like and what responsibility would it like to take on the shoulders of the airport as part of that strategy?

Everyone agrees that nobody wants to pit the airport against Shannon Airport but the reality is that a business plan has been approved by the Government for Shannon Airport which involves targeting Knock and Kerry for what it describes as lost passengers. The Government, the Minister and the Department are pitting the airports against each other. I would be interested in hearing the delegation's thoughts on that.