Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the presentation. His approach to air passenger rights is appropriate. He has set out a balanced approach to examine the needs of the passenger more than the compensation. Compensation should be a last resort and only for the purpose of ensuring airlines do their best to ensure their services are on time and treat passengers appropriately in the event of an unavoidable delay. We do not want airlines, as they did in the past, to cancel flights that do not having sufficient passengers and where there is a flight an hour or two later, in order to enhance their cost base. I think and hope the Minister’s approach deals with it and I hope the appropriate protections can be put in place to prevent lower cost carriers which are attempting to provide shuttle services in certain markets from using the hour cancellation to improve their cost base. This is where the three-hour provision is important. In principle, I support what the Minister is doing. It is about the onward connection and ensuring people reach their destinations. Nobody sets out on a journey with a view to claiming compensation, although I am often taken by the fact that, in the event of the overbooking of flights, some travellers, particularly in the US, are happy to stay an extra night in a city if the airline puts them up and they can take an early morning flight.

The Minister is right to push on the 1% in the railway package. Unfortunately, we are small and burdened with high costs and very considerable subvention. I see nothing in the fourth railway package that would be in any way helpful in addressing the challenges that already exist in our rail network. It is for another day how we discuss it and continue to invest in our rail network. Is the Shannon Estuary considered an inland waterway? It is salt water, not fresh water. It is the only one that might have a commercial entity. On the basis that it is seen as an estuary, I guess it is probably not considered an inland waterway.