Mr. Kevin Thompstone:

In response to what Senator Dooley is saying, the first point is that in July 2020 the Aviation Task Force, in its recommendations on airport charges, said the Commission for Aviation Regulation should decide on charges for Dublin Airport as it would normally. Separately, for the regional airports, particularly the regional State-owned airports of Cork and Shannon, there is a need for some kind of intervention to incentivise airlines to come back in. The proposal we are putting forward would be for the regional airports, including those in Shannon and Cork but also those in Donegal, Knock and Kerry. The reason for that, from a state aid point of view, is that we are trying to minimise the red-circling. The more one red-circles in respect of a geographical area or sector, the greater the issues from a state aid point of view. Therefore, we are trying to make it very much a regional issue. After that, it is really up to the airports and airlines to work together. The most innovative airports will attract the traffic in the end. Shannon Airport has a strong base from which to work. One should remember that we are talking about restoring routes that were viable up to 2019. It is not about new business; it is about getting back the Shannon-Heathrow, Shannon-New York and Shannon-Boston services and so on. This also applies to other airports. The services in question are what provide the passenger feed for the hospitality and leisure sectors and what enable internationally traded companies in Ireland, be they foreign owned or Irish owned, to engage with their customers and supply chains and so on. The connectivity is vital. It is very much about regional connectivity.