Mr. Conal Henry:

I thank Deputy Carey for what in parts amounted to a rolling advertisement for Shannon Airport. I really appreciate the support. He is absolutely correct that the services available in Shannon Airport now are state of the art. I think members of the committee came to see the new scanning facility. It is incredible. The time it takes to pass through security in Shannon Airport versus the time it takes in the major airport in this State is chalk and cheese. I think using Shannon Airport can remind travellers what using an airport can be like. I passed through another airport this week and put out a tweet stating it felt more like an evacuation than a departure. We were told to stand here and to go there. It is a very unsatisfactory experience to be put through an airport in that way, and it is not like that in Shannon Airport. It is very important we, as a group of stakeholders, remind potential consumers that Shannon Airport is a joy to use.

As for the Regional Airports Forum, I agree 100% that that level of financial support from the State is crucial in allowing us to invest in the likes of new scanning infrastructure, new air bridges and so on, and to continue to enhance the experience for our travellers. That is crucial. The Deputy is right that this year was the first year of Shannon Airport's inclusion in the forum, even though it is available to airports with passenger numbers under 3 million. We really need that and we will work hard to try to convince the Government of that. The committee's support in that regard is greatly appreciated, both in the past and going forward.

As for airport policy, I am very clear on the problem. I have read the Copenhagen Economics report. It is an excellent report. It illustrates the problem with our airport structure in this State. It is very lopsided. There are four airports in the western and south-western half of the State and one on the eastern seaboard, and the latter takes 87% of all the State's traffic. The region does not contain 80% of the State's population. Today I came straight through Vienna International Airport, an airport of 25 million passengers. It is a much more integrated airport. We need to think about our airport policy in this State. I appreciate that it brings up very local and very political issues, but for the sake of what the State looks like to the outside world, we really need to address the issue of the imbalance in airport traffic.

I thank Deputy Carey for mentioning the property portfolio. As is always the case with property portfolios, occupancy is important, but all the occupants of Shannon Commercial Properties sites are job creators and they generate and create economic value in the mid-west. In my previous life running a company called Enet, we could see the use of the Shannon Free Zone really take off. It is a very important engine for economic growth in the mid-west.