Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

As I have stated in the House on many previous occasions, it is clear that an EU-US open skies agreement is inevitable and I am delighted with the successful conclusion of the negotiations in Washington last week that bring open skies even closer. I expect that all member states will find the contents of the draft agreement to be acceptable and that the only issue left to be considered before finally approving the agreement will be the outcome of US moves on revising its policy on control of US airlines by foreign airlines or investors. The final position of the US is likely to be known in the early months of 2006 and I expect this will allow EU-US open skies to come into effect in November 2006.

The impact of open skies on Irish airlines and airports will be positive. For Irish airlines, open skies will give them access to every city in the US and enable them to negotiate with different airports to obtain the best commercial deals for new services. Aer Lingus, for example, has stated that it expects to double its transatlantic passenger numbers in the first few years of open skies and that it has been approached by several US airports with a view to starting new services. The additional access to the US, as well as the increased numbers of US tourists into Ireland, will greatly benefit Irish tourism, aviation and business links generally.

This is the conclusion reached by a number of recent reports for the European Commission, the Minister of Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, all of which support the move to open skies. Under open skies, each airport in Ireland that can physically receive transatlantic aircraft, including non-State owned airports, will be free to negotiate with Irish and US airlines for business. Another possibility the EU-US agreement will offer is that EU airlines will also be able to operate from Irish airports to the US and it will be a matter for Irish airports to draw in as many of the huge number of EU airlines as possible.

I have also been aware all along, however, that open skies will present challenges for Shannon and that transitional arrangements are needed to allow the airport to meet those challenges. I have at all times made it clear that Ireland's support for the EU-US open skies deal is contingent on a satisfactory transitional period for Shannon. For this reason, I travelled recently to Washington to secure such a transitional arrangement for Shannon, details of which I published on 11 November. That arrangement, which is folded into the EU-US agreement, will give Shannon Airport a total of two and a half years of Shannon stop arrangements before open skies is fully introduced in Ireland in April 2008. This additional time for Shannon will enable it to plan an orderly move to open skies and to explore how it can exploit the opportunities that open skies offers.

I have sought and obtained assurances from Aer Lingus that, in the context of a level playing field between the airline and its competitors, it will maintain the current level of transatlantic traffic, approximately 400,000 passengers per year, with regular year-round scheduled services between Shannon and Boston and New York.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

All of these transitional arrangements will allow Shannon Airport to plan the move to open skies in 2008 in an orderly way.

Over and above the transition secured for Shannon, the Government's recently approved €34 billion Transport 21 investment plan will greatly enhance the infrastructure of the Shannon region and broaden the catchment area of the airport. In addition to this, I propose to prepare an economic and tourism development plan in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to ensure that Shannon Airport sustains and grows transatlantic air services.

Overall, I am pleased with the new opportunities that open skies will offer Irish airlines and airports. Open skies will mean even more prosperity for Ireland through increased services, tourism and trade links. I am convinced that the transitional arrangements secured for Shannon Airport means that, through its own proven resourcefulness, it will fully share in that prosperity.

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