Mr. Leo Clancy:

I had conversations, including with the director of services of Mayo County Council, about this matter recently. Enterprise Ireland had conversations with the enterprise development people, including our colleagues in local enterprise. As the Deputy stated, we have just assigned funding for a feasibility study to be carried out. Our view on this is that we will wait for the feasibility study to be completed in order to decide what some of the strategic investment options, if there are any from a State perspective, might be. I would also say that in the course of our informal discussions following the approval of the feasibility study we have decided to engage with Ireland West Airport Knock and look at the potential for other services to come in. Given that there is a large airport there and a runway and related facilities, there should be propositions that can be evolved around things like maintenance and repair of aircraft and related matters. We are at a very early stage in that. The feasibility study will inform that. We are deeply engaged, myself included, on this matter.