Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understood there would be no impediment to an airport's inclusion in the programme if it had under 3 million passengers per year. Shannon Airport has not reached that level in many years. I welcome the inclusion of Shannon in the fund programme. I would like the Minister of State to give an assurance that Shannon Airport will be included in the programme in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Shannon Airport would then be on a level playing field with the other airports the Minister of State mentioned and with which it is competing. Such an assurance would be positive. There is no impediment to including Shannon Airport in the programme from the point of view of state aid at EU level if its throughput of passengers is under 3 million per year.