Mr. Conor Healy:

Yes, the indigenous economy is very important. The Cork region makes up the second largest part of the economy. There is significant economic activity in the region and the indigenous sector plays a major part in that. The issue is international access, world access and access to our largest market, namely, the United Kingdom. Much of the global access from Cork is through Heathrow, so that connectivity is of great significance. In terms of Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland activity, Great Britain is one of our core target markets. Our Aer Lingus regional services provide significant connectivity into the whole south west region.

The issue of foreign direct investment is significant. I mentioned in our presentation that there are approximately 145 IDA client companies in the Cork region. Approximately 80% of these are of US origin and it is interesting to look at their travel patterns. The direct US west coast connectivity out of Dublin is very welcome and adds to our national infrastructure. Approximately 50% of the companies mentioned in Cork are west coast origin companies and their preferred route is Cork-London Heathrow and onwards from there, because that works for them. In the absence of direct US connectivity from Cork, this connectivity is an enormous factor in terms of the decisions of those companies and the investments they make and is responsible for significant levels of employment. We have significant concerns as to the potential negative implications of not having this specific connectivity to Heathrow.