Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I do not know how well the Minister knows the mid-west, but the strength of the area has been built up around Shannon Airport over a long time. We have been innovative, constructive, flexible and co-operative and have shown the rest of the country how to behave as a region. Shannon was a region when no other area even knew what being a region was about. Now the Minister is just pulling the rug without seriously considering that these jobs have been built up over decades and that they are seriously under threat. I refer not only to tourism jobs but to other jobs in the region. The Minister needs to provide for a decent lead-in time and the type of infrastructural supports we need to make this happen.

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