Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not think we have had a committee as well attended by members and non-members in a long time. I thank Mr. O'Leary for his time. He was asked to go into politics by the former Minister, the late Séamus Brennan, to whom he made many references previously. Back in the early days of Stansted airport, Mr. Brennan was the person who not only ensured Ryanair had a presence there and a bit of breathing space but who also took Shannon Airport away from the control of Dublin Airport. There are people who say that should never have happened. I would like to hear Mr. O'Leary's thoughts on whether the separation of Shannon Airport from the remit of DAA is positive or negative.

My takeaway from this meeting is that the fairness of the emissions system must be considered. We must take on the Minister and the Minister of State with special responsibility for aviation in this regard. In the context of the EU ATC, there is huge scope here to be more environmentally friendly with that delivery.

I would also like to hear Mr. O'Leary's thoughts on competitiveness, at airport and country levels. We know Mr. O'Leary does not want the tunnel under the taxiway. Regarding the biggest new markets for Ireland and Ryanair, something we have not touched on, and just for my information, Mr. O'Leary is CEO of the Buzz, Lauda Europe, Malta Air, Ryanair UK and Ryanair DAC group of companies. Are these aircraft all the same internally and just have a different paint job on the outside? It is an internal operating model really. They all have Ryanair flight codes and planes and are part of the same service. What, then, is the rationale for this separation, other than keeping everybody on their toes? They might all be keeping each other on their toes.