Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not think any company can get a derogation from that. They will all have to be included in it, and that is obviously very serious for Ryanair and IAG, which owns Aer Lingus. They will have to comply with that, as will Donegal and Kerry airports, which are serviced by Stobart. They are all in talks about how they will do it. As far as I know, though, the indications are very strong that they are all in a process which will be successful. I am sure it is not something they welcome but they are prepared to comply with it because they must do so to become European airlines.

We talked about road haulage and the resolution of the landbridge in my response to Deputy Troy's questions. I repeat that the resolution of this is being looked at extremely urgently. I do not want to go into too much detail, and the committee will understand why, but there are all kinds of alternatives being looked at and ways of ensuring the landbridge does not become a huge obstacle in any logistical way. Those alternatives are being examined. The ferries are obviously the primary issue, but if they are not fast enough, I think they will look at other ways of doing that. I met the French transport Minister, and I think we were ad idemabout the need to move trucks fairly quickly through Dover and Calais, so there is no reason to despair but there is reason for energy.