Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Much of what I wanted to ask has been asked. I welcome Mr. O'Leary and Mr. Wilson. We are used to Mr. Wilson appearing before the committee, particularly during the Covid pandemic when he was very helpful. He gave us facts and information that allowed us to rectify some of the situations that had arisen. I welcome Mr. O'Leary, in particular. He has a proven track record. His leadership has achieved something phenomenal with the expansion and growth of Ryanair. No one in Ireland is better placed to give us an overview of the industry and send us in the right direction. His presentation has been interesting and informative, and will guide us in providing an input to national policy.

The two principal areas he covered were the climate levies, the ETS, and the regulatory regime. He expanded and developed on that. Those are the two issues the committee needs to move on. I give credit to Mr. O'Leary and his team for predicting the rapid recovery in air traffic. In fairness, I think the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, also did so. Unfortunately, it was not predicted by the people at the Dublin Airport Authority.

Mr. O'Leary mentioned that Ryanair expects to increase passenger numbers into Ireland by 19 million over five years. Even during the Covid pandemic Ryanair invested in human resources and new aircraft. Is Ryanair having a problem with recruitment? Whenever witnesses involved in the aviation industry, particularly DAA, appear before the committee they tell us about the problems they have in recruitment. The main problem DAA had was that it disemployed people when it should have employed them. Ryanair was recruiting during the Covid pandemic, but DAA was disemploying which led to a major problem and created an enormous difficulty for the perception of Ireland's competence at an international level. Why are they different?

Regarding regional balanced development, Mr. O'Leary mentioned that Dublin Airport already has a monopoly. There is a difference between a monopoly and a dominance. As I see it at the moment, Dublin has the monopoly which is creating massive problems for many people. There is traffic congestion getting in and out of it. It is not possible to get a car parking space in Dublin. The cost of hotel accommodation has gone through the roof. There are problems with baggage handling at the airport and problems getting through security. There are problems with the food and retail outlets which are under pressure. I do not understand why most of Ryanair's growth is going through Dublin Airport. Mr. O'Leary spoke about extending pier D or putting in a new terminal.

What would it take to bring airports such as Shannon and Cork into the equation on a more serious level? Many people are travelling from Munster to take flights from Dublin. I was interested in Mr. O'Leary making the connection between the road network and the airports. I did not realise that had such an impact until he mentioned that the Cork to Dublin flight has now been cancelled because people now travel by road. When planning for the future I do not think the impact of that has was ever considered. It now has a huge environmental impact because of pollution from road traffic. What do we need to do to bring Cork and Shannon into the equation? What changes need to be made to the national policy? Obviously, people are travelling to Dublin because of the frequency of flights and because of the better options flying in and flying back. What would Ryanair suggest the Government should do to bring more regional balance? Does it require infrastructure or a change in incentives for the airlines?

What do we have to do to boost Cork and Shannon?