Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that commitment in terms of the infrastructure because it is very important to Shannon and Cork. The Minister acknowledged the necessity for connectivity for Ireland. He also acknowledged the decimation of the aviation industry. We have heard from a number of witnesses across the aviation sector of the difficulties and problems, the loss of activity, loss of jobs, fears for the future and the frustration that it has taken so long to get something moving in terms of rapid testing. I have always been of the view that we will not get the aviation sector up and running again unless we create confidence with the public. That confidence will come from a rapid testing regime, where people feel safe and feel that they have a testing system that is effective, reliable, swift and in which they get early results.

We were a little slow to sign up to the European Union green directive. The Minister in his statement outlined advances that have been made. Yesterday, the Chief Medical Officer put a damper on that and said we were working on the framework. I got the distinct impression that he was going to determine what the framework would be and the steps that would have to be taken. From the Minister's perspective as Minister for Transport and from the perspective of the Government, what are the procedural steps? What is the liaison? Who makes the decision on this? The airport authorities and the airlines have told us what they need. We have a fair idea of what is required to get the airports active again. However, in terms of the decision making process, is this a case of the Minister having to await the advice of the Chief Medical Officer? What are the steps to be taken before we get to a stage where we have a confirmed framework?