Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There has to be a way around this. When we, as elected representatives, fight for funding for Shannon Airport and the other airports, we hope that it will be spent solely on what goes into, and lands out of, the sky and the revenue that generates. It is frustrating to see money being channelled towards other projects, albeit necessary ones.

The Copenhagen Economics report spelled out a future vision for Shannon and was probably ahead of its time. When we were briefed on it, it was incredible. Now that we are post Covid, it seems all the more relevant. Will an updated version of it be submitted as part of the national aviation policy?

Has Shannon Airport plans for mainstreaming new aviation? Fabulous stuff is happening at Future Mobility Campus Ireland, FMCI, just down the road from the airport, for example, vertical take-off aircraft and drones. Many such initiatives seem to have moved beyond the experimental phase and are being mainstreamed in continental Europe and the US. Has the airport plans to move some of these initiatives on from the test bed phase and mainstream them at the airport?