Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for their presentations. In his presentation, Mr. Flynn set out the priorities and the supports that the freight transport industry would need to transition and get through this intact. What are the members of his organisation doing right now? Are they taking steps or measures themselves or are they banking on the Government responding to the requests they are making? It is a matter of concern that many of those involved in the freight transport sector are small businesses and, as such, it is harder for them to cope with something as strategic as Brexit. What is happening right now or is Mr. Flynn's presentation based on looking towards the future?

We have had presentations on open skies and concerns have been expressed to us that next March could be a real deadline. It has been suggested that if the issues around devising an alternative to open skies are not sorted out by next March, that will impinge on the ability to book flights from March 2019. It was explained that one can book flights with an airline up to one year in advance and, therefore, an agreement would have to be reached well before the 2019 deadline. It makes sense that this would be a priority for the British and the European Union because it involves both passengers and goods. Does Mr. Toland have any reason to believe, from discussions he has had with the Department, that something approximating open skies will not be achieved with the indicative timeframe, that is, by March 2018, as called for by Mr. Michael O'Leary of Ryanair and representatives of other airlines? If it is not achieved, what will happen in terms of flights from Britain to Ireland? What will people have to go through in that context? Mr. Toland has said there is no default position, but I understand we will be falling back on old treaties. What would that entail? What will happen if we get to the cliff edge and do not succeed in pulling back from it?