Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will bring in Deputies Ó Murchú and O'Rourke in a moment. It is very important that we have the regional airports. They generate enormous amounts of activity, employment-wise, in areas that otherwise have greater levels of unemployment. Tourism has a seasonal nature and the airports mean that we are able to bring in large numbers of people. In America, people do not think twice about driving for three hours, but we need to have connectivity in the regions. The airports drive activity in those areas.

As somebody who does use Dublin Airport, I do not need 30 million people using Dublin Airport. If 10 million of them were dispersed to all of the other airports, that might be to Dublin's benefit, although it probably would not say that. It might make Dublin a more pleasant place for the people who are still there and give all the regional airports a shot in the arm as well.

I thank the witnesses for what they are doing. I thank those from Cork and Shannon airports for the day we had in their airport. I would welcome any invitations from the three other airports for the committee to visit the airports we have not visited to see what they are doing on the ground and what they would like to do. That might be something we could look at in our future work programme.