Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important legislation for the mid-west. The late Jim Mitchell, as Minister for Communications, placed the US pre-inspection legislation before this House in June 1986. This was to provide the legislative framework for the establishment of US immigration at Shannon Airport. At that time the aviation industry was in the midst of uncertainty. A series of international aviation terrorist incidents in 1985 and 1986 had put enormous pressure on the aviation sector. Against this backdrop the late Minister said in the Dáil, "This new situation makes it all the more necessary for us to take all possible measures to maximise the attraction of this country and its airport facilities to airlines flying between the US and Europe."

Some 23 years later the aviation sector is at a similar crossroads. That is why the introduction of this legislation here today and the extension of the US preclearance facility at Shannon Airport is so important in terms of positioning the airport for the future and ensuring it is best placed to challenge for new opportunities when there is an upturn in the fortunes of the aviation sector. While I would have liked to see this legislation come before this House a long ago, I very much welcome it this afternoon. I have always advocated and supported the setting up of the full US preclearance facility at Shannon Airport. I discussed this matter with the previous US ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Thomas Foley, who was very supportive of this development. I also met the previous US Secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Michael Chertoff, when he was in Dublin and I understand that the Minister met the new Secretary of Homeland Security, Ms Janet Napolitano, in Shannon over the weekend. Her presence there was a very positive move.

Like Deputy Joe Carey I am disappointed however that the Government is persisting with the €10 air travel tax. The Minister should have availed of this legislation to include an addendum to review the tax now. Ryanair has already announced the axing of several routes from its winter schedule and this is not the time to introduce a new travel tax. People are not travelling and this tax is a further disincentive to travel.

As I have said, I am a strong supporter of the introduction of preclearance. This will be the first such facility in Europe and is an unique selling point, especially for Shannon Airport. In the wake of the introduction of EU-US open skies, the skies have fallen in on transatlantic business at Shannon. In 2008 transatlantic passengers through Shannon fell by a whopping 23%, a fall of more than 170,000 people to 570,000 people, while at Dublin Airport transatlantic traffic grew by 14% during 2008 with a record number of 1.8 million passengers. However, by the end of 2008, Dublin's share of transatlantic business had risen to 75% compared to Shannon at 25%. This decline at Shannon is set to continue with more cutbacks in US services on the way: Delta has pulled off the JFK route and Aer Lingus is dropping its Shannon-Chicago link with the future of its JFK remaining uncertain with the route "under review".

The future is far from certain at Shannon. The opportunities which will arise when this facility is in place must be exploited. For example, private jet traffic is set to take off in Shannon with anything up to 70 jets a day expected to avail of the facility, approximately 500 jets a week. The feedback from the general aviation sector is positive towards this project. In addition to the private jet traffic, there is an opportunity for low-cost transatlantic carriers operating from Shannon Airport. Transatlantic passengers who have cleared the facility at Shannon will be able to check their baggage all the way to their final destinations in the US. Domestic airports are generally cheaper for airlines to use, are less congested and make flying a much more pleasant experience for the passenger. This will help airlines reduce their costs and with freer access to aircraft stands in these US airports, it will help airlines to reduce the time their aircraft spend on the ground.

I am disappointed with one aspect of the legislation and the Minister might mention it in his reply. The legislation makes no mention of the provision of cargo preclearance at Shannon Airport. The Lynx Group, a global airport cargo facility company, signed a memorandum of understanding with Shannon Airport earlier this year, the result of which has the potential to develop Shannon Airport into a major international logistic hub and business facility for cargo. The way forward for Shannon Airport is joint ventures. Here we have an innovative American company which is willing to invest in the mid-west region.

We need to utilise best international practice and the Lynx Group is one of the world's best providers of expertise and resources in developing and managing cargo ports. It has its own ports and operates a wide variety of cargo facilities throughout the world. The CEO of the company, Ray Brimble, who is very positive about the future development at Shannon, has expressed the view that the provision of full US cargo preclearance "would be another significant strategic advantage for a major international cargo port at Shannon". There is no doubt that the possibility of having full US cargo preclearance has attracted a company like the Lynxs Group into Shannon region and we must not let this opportunity pass. We need to invest in cargo infrastructure at Shannon Airport, which is ideally located for companies as an access point between east and west, especially for companies wishing to expand into Europe. We need to have adequate facilities in the mid-west region so that we are in a position to provide a world class logistics facility and attract new industries to the region. Providing top class cargo facilities would especially help those involved in research and development and also the pharmaceutical industry where time is critical and items may have a short street life but a high value. I ask the Minister to support the expansion of this facility to include cargo preclearance and to initiate negotiations with the US Government with a view to expanding the preclearance facility at Shannon to include cargo at the earliest possible date.

The provision of full US preclearance is another first for Shannon Airport, an airport which has a proud history of firsts. It was the first transatlantic gateway. It had the first duty-free shop. It was where the Irish coffee was first made. I congratulate the management and staff of the airport for having the foresight to see the potential that this project offers and for rigorously pursuing it. In the 1950s and 1960s when Ireland was also in an economic crisis, that great aviation pioneer from County Clare the late Dr. Brendan O'Regan did not just sit back, but went into expansionist mode. He invested in a new runway and the Shannon Industrial Estate was born. He was motivated by the constant threat that Shannon would be over-flown. Little has changed in the intervening 50 years and the threat still remains. We need that same level of expansionist and innovative thinking now more than ever.

The Minister's task is not completed by just bringing this legislation through the House today. The Government must provide marketing support in the form of a ring-fenced budget to promote this facility. This is the only such facility available in Europe and the reality is that other airports in Europe like Paris-Charles de Gaulle or Frankfurt will be trying to put a similar facility in place at their own airports in coming years. We must capitalise on the window of opportunity we have and must ensure this unique facility is marketed and promoted throughout the world. This project has the potential to create jobs and attract industry to our region. It cannot be left to fly solo and requires a clear commitment of marketing funds from the Government. We were promised €53 million in the tourism and economic plan when the open skies policy was introduced but that has been whittled down to a €4.5 million regional marketing fund which is being spent on the Discover Ireland's "Wonderful West" programme overseen by Tourism Ireland.

We need an aggressive marketing campaign led by the Shannon Airport Authority and supported by Shannon Development targeted at both scheduled and general aviation airlines. For this campaign to succeed an investment by the Government of €200,000 for the next three years, which is not an unreasonable amount, would be appropriate. My fear is that without this targeted marketing campaign the true potential of this project will not be realised.

I support this legislation as does my party. I ask the Minister to address the issues which I have raised here. Later I will deal with some of the sections Deputy O'Dowd mentioned earlier. Section 6 outlines what will happen to passengers when they are refused entry into the US and when goods are seized. I hope the Minister will ensure that adequate resources will be made available to the Garda Síochána and Customs officers at Shannon Airport to deal with the additional workload.

Section 14 of deals with cost. Some €20 million has been invested in Shannon Airport. The charge will go from €1.50 to €10.50 per passenger. I ask the Minister to outline what the charge at Dublin Airport will be when this facility is provided there next year. Shannon Airport needs to have a lower rate if it is to compete as otherwise it would be at a major disadvantage. I welcome the legislation and hope it gets a speedy passage through the House tonight.

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