Mr. Pádraig Ó Céidigh:

I am more than happy to come back to the Senator on a one-to-one basis and share that information with her.

What the Senator referenced about Shannon was mentioned earlier, and I will not take up too much of the committee's time on this, but it is an important point. The first transatlantic flight happened in 1945. Shannon Airport was the world's first duty free airport in 1947. Senator Horkan mentioned some of this history, which got me thinking about this. Shannon Airport had Europe’s first US border pre-clearance in 1986. The runway Senator Byrne mentioned is 3,199 m, which is the longest in Ireland. It is designated at the alternative landing site for the space shuttle. There is much to be proud of in Shannon Airport. It is important not to forget what its contribution has been. That is also part of our future. It does not mean we always look back but we must recognise where we are coming from. I can understand where the board of the group was coming from in 2013. It wanted to have a proper solid cash flow and a good base underpinning it. I can understand its focus on the property and income from it. That has been achieved and, as the Chairman said, going forward it is about air services and passengers. That is my primary focus in my involvement on the board for my three years in this position.

Senator Byrne mentioned the establishment of an aviation business hub. Currently, more than 300 companies are located on the Shannon Airport campus and more than 80 of those are purely aviation related. It is by far the largest such grouping in Ireland. Obviously, we must place an emphasis on that. Shannon could be the Silicon Valley in that space with respect to aviation hubs. A number of aircraft leasing companies and so on are based there. All those companies are going through a tough time. Industries directly and indirectly connected with aviation are going through a very tough time. This is a transition period. It is important the message that goes from this meeting is not to have too high expectations but to have realistic expectations. We will not change the world here overnight. The first transatlantic flight landed in Shannon in 1945. That is a good few years ago. I do not think any of us was born at that stage.