Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy's comments about Mr. Pádraig Ó Céidigh and I wish him well in his new role as chair of Shannon Group. Many members, especially those of a certain vintage, will recall his work as a Senator on the Oireachtas committee with regard to water charges. His diplomatic approach to that will serve him well as he takes on this challenging and important role for regional development as well as for the immediate Shannon region. I support the Deputy's comments regarding how well suited he is for that role.

We have to do various things with regard to aviation policy. Just prior to the Covid pandemic the Department was looking at starting the scoping of a revised version of the full national aviation strategy. One of the things to do as we emerge from Covid and the immediate crisis period will be to re-initiate that. That will begin again towards the end of the year. It has to take a variety of matters into account, such as the fundamental shift in travel patterns that may arise in the medium and long term as a result of Covid. For example, it is uncertain whether business travel will return in the way that it existed previously.

There are other issues, including decarbonisation. The Deputy will be aware the European Commission's Fit for 55 package has radical plans for both the aviation and maritime sectors. We have to take that into account in national policy. Ireland may have an advantage or we will need to be ambitious in how we switch to alternative fuels, how we decarbonise to the best of our abilities and, with respect to our airports, how we use our location on the furthest west coast on the Atlantic to offer low-carbon solutions for people who have to cross the Atlantic and take other routes. More immediately, we are considering further aviation support packages as part of the immediate Covid response. There are various elements to this. The Deputy will be glad to hear that while nothing is finalised yet, my sense is the resistance to the use of antigen tests in aviation during the most of the past year and a half is starting to weaken. While their use is not over the line, yet I am confident we will be able to bring in measures for the use of those sorts of testing systems, which this committee has been promoting for a long time. Second and most critically, the ending of the quarantine system is welcome news for the aviation sector. Third, the recent decision by the US Government that from November we will start to see the return of the ability of transatlantic passengers to access the US is critically important. As well as those measures - and this is a matter for the Minister for Finance and the Government more broadly rather than for only our Department - we will have to consider the potential extensions of e-risks and other measures because aviation and tourism will be different from other sectors. They will be properly later in coming back. On further measures, for example, we have given a commitment to reduce landing charges. We are considering additional, more immediate measures that might be able to further support the industry in the short term through this difficult winter and into the new year. I cannot share the details of that now. The budget allocations for that may come from Covid contingency funds rather than from our departmental budget. Therefore, it may not directly affect our Estimates process.

With regard to the MICB, the Deputy is correct. Captain Clinch conducted that report. The Department tendered in March for a broad review of the structures of the board. The report was presented in July and my Department is going through its findings and preparing to engage in assessing and implementing the recommendations we see as being appropriate.