Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is what airports do best. The answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". This is the feedback we want to get from airports and airlines. There are state aid rules relating to route incentives to airlines. As Deputy Carey knows, state aid is complex. We were able to do this under the Covid supplementary support scheme for Irish airports in 2021. Shannon Airport is a very good example of an airport that used this money very well to engage directly with airlines. This could be a way forward. The scheme was a Covid-19 scheme. Covid is no longer a justified reason because we are coming out of it. There is start-up aid that gives airlines the necessary incentive to create new routes from regional airports. This could certainly be something that could be explored. This is why I want people to feed into the issues paper first. The consultation phase will be open until the end of January. As part of the issues paper there will be a six to eight week consultation on the midterm review and people will be able to feed into this. The answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes" but I want to hear feedback from the airlines and the airports. The committee is bringing these stakeholders before it. It will be important to get their views. We want to make sure Ireland is connected and that one airport does not take from another. We need to understand the implications of doing all of these things but they are possible.