Ms Helen Downes:

I echo the sentiments expressed by Mr. Edmond regarding foreign direct investment. One of the key criteria for potential investors is connectivity. If we look at how Shannon suffered from the loss of the Heathrow connection in 2007, it could not get customers in or out of the country. Customers had to come all the way from Dublin as opposed to directly from Heathrow to Shannon, which was a huge problem. This had a massive effect, not only on me, but on all the industry around, which relies on proximity to the airport. Connectivity is critical and our location ticks a box for many customers throughout the world.

Recently, Genworth Financial invested heavily in opening a new facility in Shannon. This new state-of-the-art facility was built on the basis of connectivity to Europe and onward to Asia and Latin America. Therefore, connectivity is one of the key criteria for potential investors when making a decision to locate in a region. Amex also recently announced a decision to open a new facility. One of the key criteria for it was the connectivity in and out of Shannon for clients. Similarly, other companies, such as Zimmer Holdings and Wipro bring key stakeholders in to visit the region. The spin-off from this from the point of view of tourism is huge, because this connectivity creates an awareness of the region and people invest and spend more time in the region.