Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In 2013 or 2014, Turkish Airlines placed a massive order for new aircraft comparable to Ryanair's current Boeing 737 Max order. Shortly after placing the order, the company contacted Airbus and insisted that, given the magnitude of the order, certain components of the aircraft be manufactured in Turkey. Admittedly, there was an existing infrastructure in Turkey. I have met some people in the maintenance, repair and overhaul, MRO, sector who believe that beyond maintaining aeroplanes - painting them and everything else - the time is now ripe in Ireland. Ryanair has a dominant position in the budget airline sector and we have global dominance in the aircraft leasing sector. The one area where we fall back and do not have any infrastructure is aircraft manufacturing, both full and part manufacturing. Given the €22 billion order Ryanair has placed and the muscle it is able to flex in European aviation, would it consider flexing its muscle by asking Boeing and other companies it deals with to manufacture something in Ireland to give an adrenaline shot to our economy?