Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is welcome.

The Minister of State mentioned the regional airports programme. I understand that, to qualify for the programme, an airport must have fewer than 3 million passengers to be in compliance with EU state aid rules. This year is the first year that Shannon was ever in the programme, which is welcome. Shannon has not reached 3 million passengers in a long time. Will the Minister of State assure me that it will continue receiving this critical revenue until such time as it reaches at least 3 million passengers? She is the Minister of State who allocated the money and she can see the good use that it has been put to, for example, installing important security equipment, baggage haulage facilities and so on that make it easier to get through the airport. The public might not see all of that, but significant amounts of money have been invested in Shannon, much of it directly by the Shannon Group. For the first time, we are receiving money under the regional airports programme. It is being put to good use. We are in competition with the likes of Dublin, so it is not an even playing field. Surely we should be included in the airports programme going forward.