Mr. Tom Coughlan:

I wish to comment on the issue the Chairman raised, particularly with respect to transatlantic traffic.

We have a choice. We can have transatlantic passengers flying to Dublin and visiting the west - Mayo, Clare, Galway - on a day trip basis or we can have them flying into Shannon, staying in the west and visiting Dublin on a day trip basis. Clearly we want to see a strong western region in terms of tourism and in terms of business and for that to happen we need a strong Shannon Airport because Shannon is the transatlantic airport for the west.