Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion this afternoon. It is an important motion for any Deputy in the mid-west region. In recent months Shannon Airport and its future have been to the fore in radio interviews and newspaper reports. The issue does not just concern the future sale of Aer Lingus, but military flights etc.

The focus on the airport is sometimes very wrong. Deputy Peter Power knows that Shannon Airport is the second-largest airport in the country, and it is the key economic driver for business and tourism in the mid-west region. It is a counterbalance to the immense growth in the eastern region.

Aer Lingus, our national carrier, has served Shannon well down through the years. It has been very much a part of the success story of Shannon Airport. This is partly because there is a bilateral agreement in place which protects the transatlantic services going through Shannon Airport.

The airline business has changed dramatically in recent years, and particularly since 9/11 and the Iraq war. Shannon Airport was the main loser when Aer Lingus decided to cut its services in the reaction to 9/11. We lost in the region of 64 flights in Shannon Airport. Since then there has been a continual erosion of services.

One only has to look at the Cara magazine produced monthly by Aer Lingus. I looked at last month's copy, and the route map in the magazine shows no European route for the airport, and there is only one cross-channel route to England. The rest of the services go to America, but even that service has been cut back in recent years. This year we have only four direct flights a week from Shannon to the US. The rest of the services originate in Dublin and go onwards to Shannon. That cuts back capacity for people coming in through our airport.

There has been great change in airlines, not alone in Ireland but internationally. Boeing and Airbus are facing troubles, and two of the Airbus chiefs resigned last week over delays in production of the A380, the new flagship of the company. That is causing untold problems for the company. Boeing has also had severe problems in competing with Airbus. It now seems to be coming back on the market with a new airliner, the 787, which is very fuel-efficient.

I listened to an airline analyst recently who told people that they should travel the world now, as in a few years they will not be able to because of the price of fuel and other charges which will be imposed, including environmental charges. This is the future we are facing in the airline business.

People wish to travel, and the success of Ryanair in recent years can be considered in this regard, along with Southwest Air in America. They have been the exceptions to the rule with regard to the success of airlines. However, although Ryanair had its highest profits ever this year, the share price is down approximately 15% since the beginning of the year. The share price has been flat over the past three years. One might question if this is the correct time to have an IPO in the airline.

Naturally, Aer Lingus is on a sound footing at the moment. It must spend much money if services are to be expanded into the US and if it is to open 20 new routes, as the Minister, Deputy Cullen, has indicated. I do not believe that will happen. When the Minister went to the US last year to negotiate the bilateral agreement, he made a fatal mistake in negotiating the three-for-one rule.

The effects of this have already been seen in Ireland, not just in Shannon Airport but in Dublin Airport. Four US airlines now serve Ireland. They are Continental, US Air, Delta and American Airlines. I can only speak for Shannon because I represent the constituency, but there were queues out the door last year at the Aer Lingus check-in desk at the airport. Those queues are not there anymore. The other airlines are gobbling up business. As a result of Aer Lingus being so small, in a post open skies scenario the company could be swallowed by the big carriers, such as British Airways and Lufthansa. That will be a problem.

I wish to comment on the services provided by Aer Lingus at Shannon Airport. The company has not operated any new services from the airport in recent years. At the same time, it has opened many new services from Dublin and Cork. I worry about the future of the workers in Shannon Airport. These are the people who protected the airport through the years and they will be the victims of what will happen in Aer Lingus in the future. I worry about the future of those working in the Airbus A330 hangar at Shannon Airport. With a privatised Aer Lingus these jobs could be at stake and could be transferred elsewhere. In a privatised Aer Lingus, the jobs of workers at check-in desks at Shannon Airport could be at stake because a new owner could decide to sub-contract this work. These are my worries as a public representative in the Shannon area.

Last week saw the withdrawal of World Airways from Shannon Airport. It will have a devastating effect on the region and in particular on the catering workers in Shannon Airport. Where 3,000 meals a day were being prepared by them, the figure has now been reduced to 800.

Another example of what happens in Shannon with Aer Lingus occurred last Wednesday. Once a year Aer Lingus operates a charitable flight to America for Northern Ireland children with disabilities, and I have no difficulty with that. However, the company cancelled this flight EI111 and there was no scheduled flight from Shannon on Wednesday. There were three flights from Dublin to New York but we had no direct service. As my colleague, Deputy James Breen, pointed out, Aer Lingus's direct daily flights to the US are strategically important for industry in the region. One of the three flights from Dublin last Wednesday could have been routed through Shannon, but once again we were the victims of the policy of Aer Lingus and Mr. Mannion to operate a hub out of Dublin.

Mr. Mannion, in an interview in the monthly Cara magazine celebrating the 70th anniversary of Aer Lingus, stated that he wanted Dublin to become a hub. There was no mention whatsoever of Shannon Airport in that interview. I protested in writing to Mr. Mannion a month ago asking what was Aer Lingus's plan for the future of Shannon Airport but I have not heard a word in reply. I believe Aer Lingus has no plan for the future of Shannon Airport. Its plan is to leave the airport with just a feeder service in winter and to cherry pick the routes in the summer when there is business.

Shannon must be protected in the interests of balanced regional development. The Government has refused to commission an economic impact study. The report by Sorensen and the former Minister, Mr. Dukes, on the impact of open skies concluded that Shannon would be the biggest loser and Aer Lingus and the Dublin lobby would gain in this.

We in Shannon have much to fear. The workers fear for their future. That is why I am here today, to try to protect the workers in Shannon whom I represent. They must have job security, which is so important. Their pension rights must be settled.

Aer Lingus does not have a manager at Shannon Airport. The man who manages Shannon Airport is the manager from Cork. Do they call that commitment to Shannon, to the mid-west and to balanced regional development? Whereas four American airlines are servicing Shannon Airport and have faith in the airport's future, at the same time Aer Lingus is eroding services.

There are other issues I wished to raise, particularly the commitment which the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, received that Aer Lingus would put 400,000 passengers through Shannon each year. I do not believe he got that commitment in writing. Transatlantic business is worth €25 million a year to Shannon. Whatever happens, that must be protected. The Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, must look at the Government's policy on balanced regional development.

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