Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

The Acting Chairman spoke as if he was trying to ensure I would reach that target. I will not need 20 minutes to make my points.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his new appointment and wish him every success. It is great to see someone from our neck of the woods in his Department, although the previous Minister, Deputy Brennan, hailed from Galway. I hope progress will be seen along the western seaboard during the Minister of State's term in office, which, however, will probably be relatively short because he will not have the opportunity to return there after the next election. In the meantime, he has the support of his colleagues from the west in trying to provide investment for that region.

I want to raise a number of issues, some of which concern the west and others of a more international nature. I hope the Minister of State will take ownership of them in his discussions at European level.

The variety of authorities which deal with air traffic control within the European Union and Eurocontrol has given rise to a crazy situation. Lives are put at risk on a daily basis because every Eurocontrol member state has its own separate air traffic controls. This problem was typified by an incident on 2 July 2002, when 71 people, many of whom were children, lost their lives in southern Germany in a collision between a Russian passenger jet and a DHL cargo plane. In the few minutes before the accident, three separate air traffic control authorities dealt with the two planes. That is a damning indictment of the current system.

Currently there are 65 radar centres and 31 systems using 22 different computer networks within the Eurocontrol area. North America has two separate air traffic control providers, whereas the Eurocontrol area has 57. Had a centralised air traffic control system been in place before July 2002, the aforementioned accident would probably not have occurred.

The European Union's air traffic control maps resemble a jigsaw, which is not the case in the United States. I am glad those maps are not available on aeroplanes because, if they were, people would be much more concerned. Each time flights crossing Europe are transferred between air traffic control sections, mistakes are risked. Such a mistake occurred on 2 July 2002.

Not only can significant safety benefits be gained in operational techniques, advances in safety equipment and proper planning of routes but the potential exists to open up additional airspace. From a consumer point of view, that would be a positive development because it would solve the serious problems experienced in Europe at present in terms of capacity, especially during summer months. We are aware how chaotic airports often are during the summer, when delays in one part of the EU can cause major delays throughout Europe. A centralised air traffic control system within the European Union could allocate the additional air space capacity currently unavailable due to the jigsaw arrangement in place and would have a significant impact on the cost of transport in Europe because overall travelling times would be reduced and extra slots opened.

I ask the Minister of State to take ownership of this issue and push it at European level. We have more to gain from this, being on the periphery of Europe, than anyone else because of Shannon Airport, which is one of the key linchpins of air traffic control in the European Union. Shannon Airport covers a large percentage of the air space within the European Union, albeit most of it over water. The air traffic control equipment at Shannon Airport is the most modern and up-to-date in the entire EU. We have the staff and expertise in place and together with one or two other control centres in the EU, we could provide the type of effective service that is needed to benefit the consumer and dramatically improve safety. We should take a lead on this issue.

I suggested that the former Minister, Deputy Brennan, try to put this on the agenda when he was President of the Council of Transport Ministers but, sadly, my suggestion fell on deaf ears at that time. I now ask the Minister of State, who has just been appointed to the Department and has a new agenda, to set the agenda and examine this issue. It would be of major benefit to Shannon Airport. The Government is trying to downsize Shannon Airport and remove many of the services and facilities available there, but this is something positive that can be done for the airport. I urge the Minister of State to take ownership of the issue. I do not mind if he takes the idea because I would like to see this happen. Major benefits would accrue to everyone.

Security is an important element of air traffic control. We are all more conscious of security since 11 September 2001, the Madrid bombings and other scares, including the hijacking of aeroplanes and so forth. It is vital that we do all we can to reduce security risks within our jurisdiction. Again, I raised with the former Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, the issue of airport police. This is a small issue that is very easily resolved and perhaps it is something the Minister of State will take up because it would have a positive impact on all regional airports.

At the moment, based on current legislation, the airports at Dublin, Cork and Shannon are the only ones that have airport police. Ireland West Airport and the regional airports do not have an airport police service. However, under section 47 of the Air Navigation and Transport (Amendment) Act 1998, the Minister has the power to appoint airport police at all airports in this jurisdiction. That has not happened to date, despite the fact that some of the regional airports have made representations to the Department. I do not know why it has not happened yet.

The airports in question have security staff and they undoubtedly do an exceptional job. However, unlike the airport police in the State airports, the security staff cannot detain an individual until a member of the Garda Síochána arrives. That is a major flaw because if a person is acting suspiciously at a regional airport or at Ireland West Airport, the security staff cannot detain that individual. They can telephone the Garda and hope members of the force turn up promptly. If they do not, the individual escapes. That is a major security loophole and its closure is only a matter of exercising the provision made in section 47 of the aforementioned Act. It is a matter of the Minister of State seizing upon it and appointing airport police. Naturally, such airport police would not operate on a full-time basis.

The success of the regional airports has been based on the flexibility of the staff and their willingness to multi-task in various roles. We need to become more security conscious. The regional airports have sought departmental approval for the appointment of airport police in the past. They should be treated not as second class but in they same way as the State airports.

I wish to raise the anomaly that exists within the charging structures at regional airports and at Ireland West Airport, specifically landing and take-off fees. The charging structure at the aforementioned airports is different from that which operates in the State airports. Airlines are charged for air traffic control services but that money is not passed back to the local air traffic control units at the regional airports and at Ireland West Airport. None of these airports gets the return. A substantial amount of money is made every year in air traffic control in Ireland, so much so that we can allow many flights to fly over our jurisdiction free of charge, mainly from the United States on the way to the Gulf. Therefore, I do not see why the regional airports, which operate on a shoestring, cannot be provided with funds to which they are entitled. If they provide a service, they should receive the return from it but that is not happening at present.

Many of those from both sides of the House who have spoken on this Bill have raised the matter of the privatisation of Aer Lingus. I do not think we can talk about air traffic control without referring to Aer Lingus. However, I wish to confine my comments in this regard to the contents of the Bill and to what I believe is a critical national asset, namely, the slots at Heathrow Airport. Aer Lingus management has argued that those slots are not as important today as they were in the past because it flies directly into many other European airports now. However, the slots are critical because Heathrow is a key airport for providing connectivity to the rest of the world.

It is important from a business point of view that we have ready access to a key airport like Heathrow. If we privatise Aer Lingus, which the Government is considering, it is critically important that the Heathrow slots are ring-fenced. My understanding is that if we privatise the company in its entirety, such ring-fencing will not be possible. In fairness to the former Minister, Deputy Brennan, he acknowledged this point and accepted a Fine Gael amendment to the Aer Lingus Act which ensures that the Government must clarify its position on the ownership of the strategic national asset that is the slots at Heathrow Airport before it can proceed with the sale of the company.

I wish to record that point again because everyone accepts now that we made a serious mistake during the disposal of Telecom Éireann in letting the copper wire go. That should have remained in State ownership. It was sold off for short-term gain — a very short-term one for many people — without the benefit of a strategic gain for the country as a whole, which was disappointing.

I wish to give the Minister of State some advice, if I can be permitted to, regarding the western rail corridor, which is of critical importance to the development of Ireland West Airport, especially in terms of access. It is great to have such an airport at Knock. The services, amenities and connectivity available there have improved dramatically over recent years, but the access infrastructure is appalling. The road and rail infrastructure needs to be dramatically improved and one key element of that is the western rail corridor, which could provide access from the north west, the mid-west and the midlands to the airport or close by where a shuttle service from Charlestown could be established. Will the Minister of State consider this? It is the only international airport in the State that is treated as a regional airport. There should be a change in the Government's view of Ireland West Airport. It should be treated as an international airport and categorised in the same way as the other airports. It meets international standards and business is increasing dramatically each year. It should not be grouped with regional airports when it comes to fighting for limited funding. It should be developed. The region surrounding it is critically important to the spatial strategy and it must be prioritised.

There is controversy over the open skies policy at European level and it will have an impact on Shannon Airport. Ireland West Airport sees the potential that exists and has been developing charter business into the United States in recent years. We cannot rule out bringing people directly to the west of Ireland, a quicker route to Donegal than through Shannon or Dublin. The Minister of State should bear that in mind in the negotiations.

I wish the Minister of State every success in his new brief. He represented the north-western counties in the European Parliament in an exemplary fashion and I hope he will do the same in his new position. I will support anything he does to bring investment to the region.

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