Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise the important issue of open skies. I am delighted my colleague from Limerick East, Deputy O'Sullivan, is also raising the issue. Only last week, I spoke on the Adjournment about the crisis in the catering services at Shannon Airport. The airport is facing a critical period in the coming months and years in an era of open skies. People in the region are very concerned about the airport and the Government's commitment to it. Obviously, there will be some opposition to the open skies agreement among the transport Ministers — I understand the UK has some reservations — but it is expected it will be ratified at a US-EU summit on 30 April next.

The Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, talks up open skies and claims significant economic benefits will flow from such an agreement. That may be so, but if that is to happen, Shannon Airport must be prepared for it. I have always argued that while open skies are good for Dublin, they may not be good for Shannon. When the Minister, Deputy Cullen, negotiated the amendment to the current bilateral agreement in November 2005, it was a bad deal for Shannon. He negotiated an 18-month transitional period for the airport when it should have got three to five years to prepare for open skies. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

We were of the opinion that an 18-month transitional period would come into place once an agreement between the EU and the US was signed. It now appears the Minster has backtracked once again and that this transitional period has applied since last October. If the open skies agreement is signed off in April, Shannon Airport will only have a 12-month transitional period, which is a very short time — just one season. The Minister has sold out the mid-west and has done a very bad job in preparing Shannon Airport for open skies. I wonder how his colleagues in the European Commission feel on this issue because they never had any problem with Shannon Airport having its own agreement in preparation for full open skies.

The Minister went on local radio yesterday to defend his transitional period and open skies. As I said, we now know the transitional period is for 12 months. He claims the Government has put the necessary infrastructure in place in the mid-west region to prepare it for open skies but that is not the case — it is not in place. The Minister will argue the Ennis bypass has opened but that is only part of the solution, and only part of the bypass is open at present. We need to have full infrastructure in place and a full bypass through all towns, particularly Gort and Crusheen, to open the west to Shannon Airport. This will not be in place for some years.

I am sure Deputy O'Sullivan will have similar to say in regard to the Shannon tunnel, which will not open for a few years yet. Anyone travelling through Limerick city at peak morning work times will see the problems people must endure, such as a travel time of one hour. Passengers who travel to Shannon Airport via Limerick city are also facing a critical problem. The infrastructure is not in place. Neither is the western rail corridor, which the Minister promised to improve with rail infrastructure for the airport. That will not happen until 2008 at the earliest, and only from Athenry. For the Minister to say the Government has delivered the infrastructure in preparation for open skies is entirely untrue. I hope some of that infrastructure can be fast-tracked in preparation for this agreement.

I would also like to know what will happen for the 2007 season at Shannon Airport. We were told a tourism and development plan would be in place to prepare for open skies but we are now told by the Minister, in another U-turn, that this plan is currently being prepared and that it will come into place when the open skies policy begins to operate. That is not good enough from the Minister and his officials. This tourism and development plan should have been in place 12 months before open skies. I am disappointed this has happened.

The Minister has made a solo run and has let down the west. I hope the Government will do something to bring forward the infrastructure and the tourism and development plan so Shannon Airport is prepared for open skies and can compete with the other airports in Ireland, particularly Dublin Airport.

See this speech in context