Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Government's motion on the provision of air connectivity between Shannon and London Heathrow Airport. It is unfortunate that additional time could not be allocated for this debate. However, in the brief time available, I wish to make a number of points.

Rarely, if ever, has a decision by a private company attracted such sustained public criticism from the Government, public bodies, politicians from all parties and, most importantly, the public. The total opposition to this decision was evident yesterday in the form of the large turnout of workers from the area, people who are at the coalface and rightly concerned about it. History will show this to be a flawed decision by a flawed management at Aer Lingus. Far from improving its situation, this flawed decision has done long-term damage to the airline, for which management must bear responsibility. Some of Aer Lingus's key assets are its name, brand strength and customer loyalty. In an ill-conceived and commercially suspect decision, more damage has been done to that asset than could ever be gained by abandoning its loyal customer base, particularly as it relates to business customers, in Limerick and the mid-west. In addition, the underhand manner in which management sought to time the publication of the announcement was an act of pure cowardice. The fact that management did not even seek board approval for what has turned out to be a critical decision which has major implications for the airline raises serious questions about those in management.

Much comment has been made in the media and elsewhere with regard to whether the potential fallout for the Shannon region has been exaggerated. On the whole, it has not been exaggerated. On the contrary — I am reluctant to say so — substantial damage has already been done to the region arising from the adverse publicity generated by this controversy.

I take this opportunity to record my appreciation of the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance which has played an enormous role in preparing a comprehensive, credible and reasoned business case for the retention of Shannon-Heathrow connectivity. Anybody who has spoken to the managers and chief executives of significant businesses in the mid-west can be in no doubt whatsoever about the serious impact this decision will have. Like many in the House, I have spoken to dozens of managers who employ hundreds of people. Their views must be taken seriously.

The early indications are that the take-up on the proposed new Aer Lingus Belfast route is very poor. Figures I obtained yesterday indicate that of the 18,762 seats offered by Aer Lingus, a grand total of 104 have been taken up. That is less than one seat per flight. Even at this stage these figures show a remarkably slow uptake in contrast to a proven, sustained demand from Shannon. This alone should prompt Aer Lingus to re-evaluate its decision. The management of Aer Lingus claims to have made the decision on purely commercial grounds. If that was the case, there is now an onus on it to reassess its position. The Atlantic Connectivity Alliance has made a very persuasive case that the Shannon-Heathrow link would be more profitable than the Belfast one.

In the light of the poor uptake on seats on the new Belfast route, there is one obvious solution, namely, Aer Lingus should concentrate its sales on one slot only, redeploy two of its slots to a proven profitable route from Shannon and take one additional route from elsewhere. In this regard, I refer to the motion before the Dáil and, in particular, the Government's endorsement of the Shannon Airport Authority's efforts to secure enhanced air access from Shannon to London Heathrow. At the time of the passage of the State airports legislation I made it clear that the performance of the new Shannon Airport Authority would be monitored closely and regularly and that it was just as important to constantly review its incentive packages to existing airlines as well as developing new ones. I note with interest a new package and incentive scheme launched by the Shannon Airport Authority on 12 September. It would be prudent to await the outcome of expressions of interest in this package. Was such a scheme considered before Aer Lingus made its decision?

There are a number of other points I wish to make but I do not have time to do so. I indicated at the outset of this controversy that it was my belief that this situation would not be resolved overnight. Accordingly, I await with acute interest——

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