Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That update is really positive. The role postmasters, postmistresses and all of those involved with the post office network played during the Covid pandemic was clear for everyone to see. As we emerge from the pandemic, this injection of money is really welcome. It gives postmasters and postmistresses certainty for the future. They can plan and look forward to developing their businesses and their services further. It is very encouraging to hear the Minister of State say that the State will be there. She is not just saying it. She has managed to put this package together and she deserves great credit for doing so. It is fantastic. I have no doubt that she had many a battle in many a room with many officials and other Ministers. A great deal of credit is due to her on this. Well done.

I will move on to the Minister of State's other area of responsibility, that of aviation. We had a long meeting in committee room 2 with the DAA earlier. I will not go over it, but I have heard the Minister of State's comments in recent days. I know she is trying to do the best she can as Minister of State with responsibility for aviation. It has been a problem of mismanagement in the airport. Mr. Dalton Philips assured us today that the DAA hopes to have plans and resources in place to deal with the numbers it expects to go through the airport this weekend. This issue exposes the frailties in our national aviation policy. Some 87% of passengers are funnelled through Dublin Airport, which is a really sad indictment of our national aviation policy.

Last week, Mr. Conal Henry, the recently appointed chairperson of the Shannon Group, came before this committee. He was put forward for the job by the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. He got a ringing endorsement from the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. In the course of his interaction with us, he pinpointed amendment of the national aviation policy as a key ambition of his as chairperson of the Shannon Group. He pointed out that there is one really dominant airport and four others that fight over the remaining 13% of traffic. That is not sustainable on an island of our size. The Minister of State will understand the economic importance of an airport to a region. I represent County Clare, Shannon, the mid-west region and the western seaboard. It is just critically important. Some 40% of foreign direct investment, FDI, companies are based in the Shannon region. They need connectivity, whether to mainland Europe, the US or anywhere else in the world. They need that. One of the primary reasons many of those companies set up in the region is that connectivity.

We should consider the investment Government has made in Shannon Airport, even in recent years. The committee visited the airport and looked at the new scanning system it has. Some €4.6 million was invested in that equipment, which means that, having gone through pre-clearance for the US, people can now go through just one security check. Passengers travelling through Dublin have to go through two, and that airport's equipment is not up to date.

It is easy to make the case that it would make more sense to have more people flying to and from Ireland through Shannon, as was previously the case with the stopover. We need, by means of a national aviation policy, to encourage airlines to provide for that. We also need key hub connectivity through the airport, especially in this post-Brexit era. We have connectivity to Heathrow, which is very welcome, but prior to the pandemic it was planned to have connectivity to Paris. There was also a Lufthansa service to Frankfurt but this is not back on track yet. I know Government has given money directly to airlines to fly and to re-establish routes, which is very welcome. I hope that will happen but we really do need a fair slice of the cake to enable airports outside of Dublin to take the pressure off Dublin Airport. It cannot all be about one really dominant airport. We need to spread it out. National aviation policy should be brought in line with key Government policies like Project Ireland 2040. The aviation policy is in total variance with that. It is also at variance with the regional economic strategies, which the Minister of State will be familiar with. We need to recognise airports like Shannon Airport as economic drivers.

In some ways, the airports are like the post offices, which the Minister of State is after sorting out. They should be looked at in that way. They are more than just airports. They are of regional importance. They are also of importance to the country in providing a counterbalance to Dublin. The events in Dublin over recent days tell us that everything is being funnelled through Dublin because of existing policy, which needs to be amended. Deputy Shanahan mentioned the need to amend national aviation policy as well. I have no doubt that Deputy O'Donnell will also do so. The Minister has confirmed to me on the floor of the Dáil that he is committed to reviewing aviation policy. When will that happen? For me, it cannot happen quickly enough. It must also involve consultation with stakeholders in the regions and throughout Ireland. This could result in a win-win for everyone. We can have a sustainable network of airports which all have specialties. I was talking about Shannon Airport and American transatlantic traffic. The airport could major in that. There could be something for Cork, Knock and Waterford as well. We need to cut up that cake in a more equitable way so that we all benefit.