Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have been listening for the past two hours. It is a very interesting discussion. I thank Mr Cullinane and Mr. Geoghegan for being here today. I am deputising today for my colleague Deputy Michael Lowry. One might ask, why is a guy from Galway coming in here to talk about the airport in Dublin. When we talk about connectivity and aviation policy, it affects everybody on this island. From where I live in Tuam I can get to Dublin Airport within two hours, I can get to Shannon Airport within one hour, and I can get to the Ireland West Airport in Knock in 45 minutes, all within the set speed limits. The only thing is, when I come to Dublin I dread coming near the M50 because if there is traffic congestion one cannot judge what time one will get to Dublin Airport. The witness referred to MetroLink and so on. I accept that, as the major airport in the country, Dublin Airport must be developed properly and that we have to make sure we are developing it in a way that is best for the country, best for industry and best for the economy. There is a lot to an airport, from the connectivity to the hubs, to get international and global travel. I was on a trade mission in China and at that time we were trying to convince people to have direct flights from China to Ireland, and they have come. This takes an Ireland Inc. approach to getting that done.

While I was listening to everything being said here, I noted that there is a parochialism around aviation in Ireland because there is Dublin, Cork and Shannon, and no mention - or only once - of Knock, which is also an international airport. We have these assets within the Republic of our country and we must develop them. We need to develop them with a national policy and not with competing policies. I believe there is enough for everybody.

I will say two things about aviation. Mr. Geoghegan hit on it when he mentioned being best in class and best at international aviation services whereby we can go any place in the world and deliver them. That is fantastic but we must sell that more and more so that Shannon, Cork and Knock airports can do that. We have the expertise and we need to be able to build our business abroad. Aviation is an enabler to allow Ireland, on the periphery of Europe, to become the stopping-off point to get to Europe and beyond from America. We have the assets but I believe there is a frustration. I hear it also from some of the members of the committee here. The frustration is that we may not all be playing on the same team at times. It is difficult to play on the same team when there is no remit for Shannon Airport but there is a remit for Cork and Dublin airports, so Shannon is not part of the team. At the same time, we should not see them as Galway and Mayo playing at football: they are not arch enemies. There must be recognition for the fact that we have to work together. The appointment of Mr. Pádraig Ó Céidigh to the Shannon Group is a major step forward for the airport, for the west of Ireland and for regional development. Listening to Mr. Geoghegan today, there is no doubt there is a lot of commonality in the thought processes of Mr. Geoghegan and Mr. Ó Céidigh. There is more in common than there is in difference among us here.

We are a very small nation. Geographically we are very small but we are an island and we work way beyond what size should dictate. Aviation in Dublin Airport has shown that consistently, and I congratulate Mr. Geoghegan on that. We have some work to do to make sure that when we are talking about aviation and Ireland Inc. that we are not just talking about DAA. It is also Shannon, Knock or Kerry. It is one industry. We are too small a country to divide it up. If we are to continue to compete with other international hubs around the world we need to be doing it as one hub with three or four locations. That is the way we should be doing it. Policy change has to happen in this regard. I do not have many questions because the witnesses have been already asked a lot of questions. Reference was made to the charge being brought from €7.75 to €9.50, which is a 35% increase. If that is the case, is there a tipping point where that would become a negative in promoting the airport?