Mr. Joe Gilmore:

With regard to state aid, on reading the detail on the Department notification, we noted that the additional €6 million provided for the regional airports is still subject to European Commission approval. On the point the Deputy highlighted, the €10 million of funding provided in budget 2021 and the additional €22 million provided to the State airports at Shannon and Cork do not appear to be subject to Commission approval. We are seeking clarification on that because, while we understand that there are requirements, we would have thought that, given the Covid crisis, a derogation from state aid rules could be secured for this emergency funding so that it could be provided to the airports immediately.

On the issue of region to region for the Christmas period, we will be updating our website today with the most recent information from the Government's announcement yesterday on the green, red and orange zone testing. We note that in the case, in particular, of the red zone, a person does not have to self-isolate if he or she gets a negative PCR test five days after arriving into Ireland, which is a positive development. For passengers who are thinking of travelling, we will be updating our website with the most recent Government information, which is where we are take our direction from.

On the current regional airports programme, in the context of all the challenges that the aviation sector is facing, there is discussion of a new national aviation policy being revised from the previous policy in 2015 and encompassing the landscape now and the future we all face. Is the current programme fit for purpose? I think it has been, and it has been an excellent programme for the past five years. Going forward, there are areas where it can be enhanced and worked on to adapt to the new environment we are all facing.

In particular on the restoration of air access, the number of air carriers is reducing and it is getting much more difficult to find carriers that will effectively take the risk of flying into regional airports, because it is a much higher risk for airlines than flying into capital cities around Europe. The area of subvention to air carriers to put on new services to the regions is a whole area that needs further discussion and exploration because we are finding it extremely difficult to find new carriers in ordinary times. I know, going forward, it is going to be even more difficult.