Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First, I congratulate Mr. Ó Ríordáin on his re-appointment, which is obviously a vote of confidence. The report is positive after the traumatic times of the last number of years. As a Cork man my first question, of course, is about the Cork-Boston transatlantic connection that has been promised for so long. Why is it taking so long? There have been deputations, ministerial intervention and goodwill groups from local authorities to Boston and Norwegian Air Shuttle. There is a European-American transatlantic agreement in place. What is the reason this is being held up? Is it because the American presidential election is under way at present? I hope Mr. Ó Ríordáin can reply on that.

I welcome the proposal for a second runway in Dublin and I am glad the airport is not encountering as many intricacies as Heathrow Airport. My question is about the conditions. What is the point of having two runways if one of them must shut down when the other one is functioning? I thought the idea behind having two runways was to deal with the intensity of the number of flights. My understanding of it is that when one runway is open the number of flights is reduced from 100 to 64, but it shuts down then to allow the other runway to operate. What is the advantage of having one runway shut down when the other is functioning? Am I open to correction on that interpretation?