Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Hynes. I thank her for her presentation and wish her well in her endeavours for Shannon Airport.

With regard to the dramatic fall in the number of passengers which plummeted from over 3 million in 2007 to 1.5 million at present, I am worried about the reliance on transatlantic passenger traffic. Tourists from the United States and Canada are now selecting destinations in South America, including Peru and Colombia. This has been a growing trend in the past two to three years and it is very worrying for the Irish tourism industry. What efforts will be made to counteract this? Can we increase passenger numbers, given this phenomenon?

I read the report on freight and cargo. Shannon Airport only attracts 10% of the cargo trade, while 90% of exports leave from Dublin. Some years ago the former CEO of Shannon Development Mr. Liam McElligott met the then Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, and another individual to propose that Shannon Airport become an international flight hub concentrating exclusively on the freight market. Geographically, the airport is in an ideal location for this. Mr. Bertie Ahern asked whether there was a model to draw on. There was not; in this regard, Mr. McElligott was ahead of his time, as there was considerable potential. Owing to possible implications at political level involving the Dublin Airport Authority, for example, the proposal was never advanced. I ask Ms Hynes to consider reviving the proposal with her board. At any given time the vast majority of freight appears to be transported by air.

As part of a delegation, I attended a meeting some 12 months ago with the former US ambassador, Mr. Dan Rooney. In a discussion on Irish economic circumstances I raised the issue of Shannon Airport and other airports along the western seaboard, including the regional airport in Kerry. Mr. Rooney stated Shannon Airport had great potential to be an international freight hub. Perhaps Ms Hynes might consider having 50% of its business based on freight and 50% on passengers.

Perhaps this would ensure the future viability of the likes of Kerry Airport. We could develop it into one similar to Knock airport and could perhaps get more international traffic with the development of the runway and so on. Perhaps there should be a sea change in our thinking in regard to these aspects of developing Shannon Airport.