Mr. Michael O'Leary:

I do not understand all of the facets of Shannon. It is bigger than just the airport. The only upside of Brexit has been the return of duty free on flights to and from the UK. It is a major issue. We have spoken to some Italian airports that have seen their commercial income double from €15 spend to €30 spend per passenger. Shannon, Cork and Dublin are benefiting. If I were in Shannon Airport I would be doing two things. I would be trying to get the Department to lower my costs. I do not know what costs it has that could be lowered. Certainly the costs it pays for air traffic control are very high but I do not know the details. I am not intimately associated with its business. I would also try to ensure that we get many more duty-free flights. One of the reasons more growth will be available from the UK to Ireland in the next three or four years is because duty-free is back on the UK flights. The airports will make more money out of it. We sell more cigarettes and booze on board those flights. We will all make out a little bit better. I would rather it was not there and that the UK returned and became a member of the European Union but Brexit is a tragedy that will take ten years to reverse.