Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have some more questions. I will leave Aer Lingus alone and I thank the witnesses for their answers. I hope some of what I have asked about will remain subject to review. The mid-west is viable and it has been very good to Aer Lingus. I hope the cabin crew base and the routes serviced out of Shannon will be kept under positive review.

I want to finish with some questions for the DAA. I cannot leave it off the hook on this one. Has it been complicit in damaging Ireland Inc. in 2022? We have extortionate hotel prices. We have price gouging in hotels. We have had images of people queueing at Dublin Airport in marquee tents in the car park, people missing flights and people crying on television. It came home to me a couple of weeks ago when a traditional Irish music group from New Jersey won a qualifier round to compete in the all-Ireland fleadh. They got a trophy and a plate but they were told the price of hotels and flying into Dublin would not work so they stayed at home. They are champions in New Jersey but it means nothing to them. Do the witnesses believe that Dublin Airport has been damaging to Ireland Inc.? As we head into the autumn how do they propose to reconcile this and improve relations?