Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I am astonished to hear the Minister claim that Aer Lingus believes Shannon has a strong transatlantic market. When Mr. Walsh was with Aer Lingus he removed many transatlantic services from the airport, particularly on the EI 111 route, from which a percentage of seats were transferred to Dublin Airport.

What is the Minister doing to protect Shannon Airport? Government policy is to encourage balanced regional development, yet the Minister is doing nothing to protect this regional airport. The European Commission has sent letters to 20 EU member states regarding their bilateral air transport agreements with the US. However, the former European Commissioner for Transport, Loyola de Palacio, and her successor, Jacques Barrot, did not see a problem with Ireland having its own bilateral agreement with the US.

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