Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will get into the questioning on today's issue shortly. When we are doing a piece of work on the future of aviation in this country, it would be remiss of us not to use the very considerable expertise Mr. Walsh has. I know of his interest in Ireland and Irish aviation generally, notwithstanding his current role. It would be useful to get his insight on a range of issues, and perhaps we could do that in private some day, where we can have an open conversation to assist us in developing policy.

Mr. Walsh said at the outset that he lives in Geneva, and that while Geneva is not a hub, it has 17 million passengers. I want to concentrate on Shannon, as I have often done in the past. If we had 17 million passengers going through Shannon, I do not think they would care what it is called, whether hub, spoke, wheelbarrow or otherwise. From my point of view, I never expect Cork, Shannon or anywhere else to be a hub. We are at 1.7 million passengers at the moment. If we could get that to 3 million passengers, it would make a massive change in the workforce around the airport, the support structures and all of that employment, and it would lead to very considerable economic development, which in itself would have a snowball effect. I want to concentrate on that.

There have been references to Schiphol and elsewhere. Shannon needs one thing at the moment. It needs another connection to an international hub, and Schiphol would probably be the best option, although Frankfurt would be a good second choice. We have access to Heathrow. It has been vexed and fraught, and we had our issues with that, but we have retained it and it is there. What advice would Mr. Walsh give, in his current position and with his intimate knowledge of the Irish aviation sector?

I do not think anybody in Ireland has greater expertise in aviation than him. With that cap on, what could the likes of Shannon Airport do to get that piece of connectivity in place?