Mr. Conor Healy:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for giving me the opportunity to address them on this critical issue for Cork's business and tourism communities. Cork chamber is the leading business organisation for the Cork region, representing in excess of 1,000 businesses that employ more than 100,000 people, with a mandate to drive the wider economic development of the region.

Cork is the economic hub of southern Ireland and Cork Airport’s services and air connectivity are critical to the economic health and global investment appeal of Ireland’s second city and its surrounding region. Cork’s air connectivity has been instrumental in attracting inward investment from global market leaders in key sectors with Cork now home to 145 IDA Ireland client companies employing almost 30,000 people. Cork's air connectivity also plays a pivotal role in serving the connectivity needs of the broader indigenous business base and tourism sector.

The accessibility of Cork, in particular the range and frequency of inbound and outbound air services, is a core priority for the chamber given the vital role of these services in facilitating business and tourism in the wider Cork region. Based on our geographic representation, our air travel surveys give a unique understanding of our connectivity infrastructure, the critical nature of the London Heathrow connection being paramount.

Despite some recent positive policy initiatives, Cork chamber has grave concerns regarding the adequacy of existing Government policy measures to support a fair, balanced and effective approach to the development of Cork Airport as one of the three State airports, the most recent of these serious concerns being the potential sale of Aer Lingus to IAG. Following this week's recommendation of the Aer Lingus board to its shareholders to accept a potential offer from IAG, Cork chamber strongly urges the Government to oppose the sale of Aer Lingus in light of our growing concerns over the absence of legally binding guarantees around the safeguarding of the existing Cork to Heathrow slots or any information relating to IAG's longer-term plans for the airline as they relate to Cork Airport.

The Cork to Heathrow slots are a national asset and are a critical piece of business infrastructure for our region. Heathrow is the leading connection to Cork's largest trading partner, the UK, and is the leading access point to and from the globe from a business and tourism perspective. In the absence of direct US connectivity from Cork, the significance of our direct link to Heathrow is further magnified.

In 2014, almost 400,000 passengers flew on the four daily flights which currently operate between Cork Airport and Heathrow and these accounted for almost 20% of Cork’s total 2.14 million passengers. One in five of these passengers then transferred onto another international flight which underlines the critical nature of this onward worldwide connectivity link. In addition, our 2014 business air-travel survey showed London Heathrow is the most used hub airport by almost two thirds of businesses in Cork.

Clearly, losing this route would have severe consequences for our business sectors and we urge Government to ensure a legally binding guarantee is put in place to maintain the existing Cork Airport to Heathrow connectivity before any sale of Aer Lingus is considered. Any reduction in connectivity to Heathrow would undoubtedly make Cork a less attractive destination to multinational businesses considering investing and creating jobs in Cork as well as existing investors. It would inhibit international market access for our indigenous businesses and put our city region at a very significant disadvantage.

While we welcome the Government's announcement to establish an interdepartmental group to consider the implications of the potential sale of Aer Lingus to IAG, it is essential that the terms of reference of the group include a requirement to report specifically on the impact and implications of any sale on Cork Airport. A broad national overview would not be sufficient and would not acknowledge the growing concerns across the Cork business and tourism community which reflect the incalculable importance of connectivity to London Heathrow, which is an intrinsic core of Cork's business and tourism infrastructure.