Mr. John Mulhern:

I thank the committee members for the opportunity to contribute this opening statement for their consideration. We fully appreciate the committee's limited time schedule, which is defined by risks associated with Covid-19 and, as such, we will keep this statement brief. It is important and appreciated that the regional airports have a voice that is heard with regard to any decision-making or discussion on policy development in government and in opposition, and also to represent our colleagues in tourism and many other fields of commerce that are equally reliant on air travel. It is correct to state clearly in this forum that so many people in rural Ireland are dependent on reliable air transport and have also endured the unfortunate consequences of Covid-19 on their businesses and livelihoods. In Kerry, like all of the regional airports and members, we are eager to secure a real and absolute recovery in the coming months and years.

In the near future it would be very helpful to get a positive announcement regarding the regional airports programme, RAP, which would support us in re-establishing our path to growth and sustainability in the future. We all understand that this journey has been given a significant blow that has set us back perhaps several years. However, we still believe that with the support of the programme and sustained State funding we can continue to contribute so much more to our rural economies and the greater national purse than we receive.

We very much welcome last evening's announcement by the Government. We thank the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, and our friends and colleagues in government, Deputy Brendan Griffin and the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, for their support through what has been a nightmare for us all here in Kerry, and in all the regions.

This year promised so much for Kerry Airport, as we celebrated 50 years of providing air transport in the county and region. Several upgrades to our passenger facilities, along with the announcement of our new route to Manchester, promised so much, including a passenger increase of 10% on the 370,000 passengers handled in 2019. Rebranding and new marketing plans, along with the success of the Wild Atlantic Way tourism initiative, promised another successful year not only for us but also our colleagues in Ireland West and Donegal airports. Unfortunately, the situation now is way beyond what could have been envisaged less than one year ago. The impact of Covid-19 will see passenger numbers fall by approximately 90% compared with those of 2019 across all the airports. The symptoms of that critical decline are felt in so many ways and across so many industries, including tourism, which accounts for 25% of all employment in the county.

We have accepted that sacrifices in travel are necessary to protect the greater good. However, it is a battle every day to find a balance between the commercial instinct to drive up passenger numbers by whatever means and the need to protect our vulnerable population, front-line staff and finite healthcare facilities. That is especially the case now as we must again endure the pressures of the winter's inevitable inpatient bed crisis in the middle of a second surge of SARS-CoV-2.

The announcement of the adoption of the European traffic light system is very welcome and is seen by us in Kerry as a safe and manageable method to begin to reopen and recover overseas air travel. Decisions by several European countries and our neighbours in England to follow our lead and introduce level 5 or similar restrictions will see a drop to below 50 positive cases per 100,000 of population and positivity rates that are lower than 4%, which will open up many corridors of free and safer travel in the very near future.

Like the rest of the world, we pray that recent announcements in vaccine development will at some stage next year begin the real healing that is so desperately sought by us all. Kerry Airport is investigating the option of ensuring access for passengers to PCR Covid testing through a local private healthcare facility at a cost that would be considered reasonable. We respect the science that suggests other methods of testing outside of PCR, including loop-mediated isothermal amplification, LAMP, and rapid antigen, do not at present provide the amount of efficacy that is required. We believe that off-site PCR testing one to two days prior to travel represents the best way forward for restrictions relating to orange, red or grey territories.

We again thank the committee for this opportunity to share our position and experiences of the effects of Covid-19. We would be very happy to answer any questions or develop further any points that were made in this statement. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gcoiste arís. Is mór againn an deis seo labhairt leis an gcoiste.