Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That answers the question I was going to ask next. If the chair of a board is solely a chair, he or she arrives at board meetings, has knowledge of what happens but does not know the day-to-day workings. I would use the analogy of a school in this regard, with the principal running the school and the chairperson of its board rubber-stamping decisions. I believe Mr. Henry understands that the airport needs more than that. The fact that he has daily contact is reassuring, as that is what is required. Since the time of Mr. Brendan O'Regan, there has been a vision of where Shannon needs to go. Those who have led the airport down the years have not been managing it in the here and now. Instead, they have been thinking five to ten years ahead and positioning the airport for that.

I wish to ask two questions about the airport's positioning. We are on the cusp of preparing a new national aviation policy. The current one is defunct and bears no relevance as we exit Covid. What are Mr. Henry's thoughts on what needs to happen to rebalance aviation and give a larger share back to Shannon? I spoke to Mr. Henry about another matter when we met him at the airport. Shannon has a considerable role to play in sustainable aviation, which is where the sector will go over the next six to seven years. What role has Shannon to play in this?